Pioneers Pick Up Conference Win

Box Score The MNU Men's Soccer team picked up a vital win this afternoon at Pioneer Field. The Central Methodist Eagles were in town for this Heart of America conference match. Both teams entered the game desperate for a win after dropping their conference openers last weekend. MNU won the game 5-0.
 
The game got off to a bad start for the Eagles. Just 1:33 into the match, they were given a red card for what the referee saw as a malicious tackle.  This forced CMU to play the rest of the game a man down. The Pioneers immediately looked to capitalize on this advantage as they pushed the tempo of the game. Understandably they were controlling a majority of the possession but the Eagles were not giving up at all. They were working very hard and created a great goal scoring opportunity but MNU's goalkeeper Chris Eriksson made the save. MNU finally broke through in the 42nd minute when Eddie Morales crossed the ball into the box and Niklas Larsson was able to get a toe on the ball and deflect it past the CMU goalkeeper for the opening goal. MNU went into the halftime break with a 1-0 lead.
 
The second half was more of the same, with MNU enjoying a majority of the play, but this time they managed to put away a few more of their chances. At the 51-minute mark, after a nice sequence of passes, Matias Fernandez scored off a pass from Atanas Karagyaurov. Just 4 minutes later, Lippi Souza had a great finish from a Lucas Machado pass. MNU continued to press and in the 65th minute CMU was called for a foul just outside the box. Morales stepped up to take the free kick and his shot ricochet off the crossbar only to have Rodrigo Rivas follow it up to bury it in the back of the net. The Pioneers ended the scoring with a Morales rebound goal after Larsson's shot was saved by the CMU goalkeeper.
 
For the game MNU outshot CMU 21-2. Chris Eriksson earned the shutout with 2 saves. CMU falls to 6-4-1 (0-2 HAAC). MNU moves their record to 9-3-1 (1-1 HAAC). Next up for the Pioneers is a home match vs. #18 Baker University on Wednesday at 3:00. Come out to Pioneer Field and support the men as they look to put another conference win in the books.