No. 10 Men's Soccer Overcomes Early Deficit to Top Culver-Stockton

Marshall, Mo., (Sept. 28, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's soccer teams hosted Culver-Stockton (Mo.) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader, Saturday evening, inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.The No. 10 men's team overcame an early deficit to win, 3-1.

The men's game started with Missouri Valley creating the better opportunities on goal.  Senior Defender Jacob Adams (Nottingham, England) put a shot on target with just over 11-minutes played, and Senior Defender Kazuki Hashimoto (Yokohama, Japan) added another shot on goal near the 14-minute mark, but both attempts were saved.  Senior Midfielder Malik Hasanovic (Skopje, North Macedonia) had a shot saved by the Culver-Stockton keeper midway through the half, to keep the contest scoreless.  Hasanovic came close again five minutes later, as his shot hit off the post.  The Wildcats took advantage of an opportunity with just over eight minute to play in the first half, as the team's first shot on goal went into the net, and put the team in front, 1-0.  The Vikings responded minutes later, as Junior Defender Lazar Ziric (Belgrade, Serbia) set up Adams in front of the Culver-Stockton goal to tie the game at 1-1.  Missouri Valley continued to put pressure on the CSC defenders with time winding down in the half.  Eventually, Adams and Hashimoto worked together to set up Senior Midfielder Yoshiki Igarashi (Tokyo, Japan) with a shot, that went just inside the right post and into goal to move MVC ahead, 2-1, in the closing moments before halftime.

Culver-Stockton started the second half with the first quality chance, forcing Junior Goalkeeper Cristobal Benitez Delgado (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) into a save less than five minutes into play.  The two teams traded possession over the next several minutes, and MVC eventually built up an opportunity in the Wildcat box.  A CSC foul resulted in a penalty kick chance for Missouri Valley.  Senior Forward Sam Green (London, England) stepped up, and put his penalty shot past the keeper to give the team a 3-1 advantage with just over 13-minutes played in the half.  The Vikings limited Culver-Stockton through the rest of the game, holding the team to no shots on goal through the final 32-minutes of play.  Freshman Midfielder Rodrigo Diaz (Chicago, Ill.) came close on two occasions to extending the lead, as a shot hit the post near the 74-minute mark, then a shot of Diaz was saved in the final five minutes.  The Vikings eventually finished out a 3-1 victory.

Adams led with his first goal and first assist of the season.  Igarashi added his fourth goal, moving his point total to 14, and added a second game-winning goal.  Green has scored in five-straight games, moving his total to nine goals and 20 points this season.  Hashimoto registered his second assist, and Ziric added his first assist this season.  Benitez Delgado made one save.  Missouri Valley held a 17-5 advantage in shots and an 8-0 edge in corner kicks.

The win moves the Vikings to 7-1-1 overall and 4-0 in the Heart.  Culver-Stockton drops to 0-7-3 on the season and 0-4 in the Heart.

Up next, the Viking soccer teams travel to Olathe, Kan., for a Heart doubleheader against Nationally ranked teams from MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), Wednesday.  The No. 22 women's team plays No. 19 MNU at 1 p.m., and the No. 10 men's team plays the No. 19 Pioneers at 3:30 p.m.

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About Missouri Valley College

Known for its dynamic, richly diverse, and friendly educational environment, Missouri Valley College offers many opportunities to grow in mind, body, and spirit. Grounded in the liberal arts, undergraduate studies empower students to master interdisciplinary skills needed to succeed in a knowledge-based global society. MVC offers over 30 academic programs, study abroad program, extracurricular activities, and a wide variety of sports. The most popular majors include education and business, criminal justice and exercise science. Above all, Valley is committed to student success. For more information, call (660) 831-4000 or visit www.moval.edu.