Pioneers Win in Overtime on Homecoming

Homecoming weekend is an exciting time on any campus around the country. The Men's Soccer team decided to add to that excitement with a sudden goal overtime win this afternoon against Culver-Stockton College. A seven goal thriller was capped off with a 4-3 win in the 97th minute of the game.
 
The Pioneers started well in the game and took the lead in the 8th minute. After a beautiful sequence of passes, Eddie Morales finished with a bullet to the back of the net.  Luis Cadena was credited with the assist. The lead would not last and this became a pattern throughout the game. In the 13th minute, Culver equalized. They took advantage of some sloppy defending by the Pioneers and knotted the game at 1. In the 21st minute, the Pioneers again took the lead. Another nice passing sequence was finished off by Cameron Wallace. Cadena was credited with his second assist. MNU extended their lead to 3-1 before the break when Tanner Hunjak played the final pass to Eduardo Heringer and he slotted the ball past the keeper.
 
The second half was much different. MNU started well and created a few opportunities but they could not sustain the same rhythm in the game that they had in the first half. The Wildcats kept working and in a two minute section they leveled the game at 3. Again, some suspect defending by the Pioneers was to blame but give the Wildcats credit for continuing to work. The two goals came in the 58th and 60th minutes. Neither team created much in the final 30 minutes and the game headed to overtime. 
 
MNU pressed for the winning goal in overtime and they created two opportunities to Culver's one. It was the second that finished the game. With just over two minutes left in the first overtime period, Wallace completed his brace with a header from close range. Hunjak and Morales were credited with assists on the play. For the game, MNU outshot CSC 12-9, with SOG being 6-6. The Wildcat goalkeeper was credited with 2 saves. Juan Pablo Riesco had 3 saves in the match. CSC falls to 6-8-1 (2-4-1) on the year. MNU goes to 11-3-1 (6-1). Next up is the last road trip of the regular season. The Pioneers travel to Evangel University (0-11, 0-7) on Saturday, October 24 at 7:30.