Pioneers Knock off Defending Champs, Head to Semis

The Pioneer Men's Soccer team will head to their second NAIA National Championship semifinal after Wednesday's 1-0 win over the defending national champions, Davenport University. After a one hour delay in the start of the game due to weather in the area, the Pioneers and the Panthers squared up for what turned out to be a fantastic match. With field conditions being average at best, both teams attempted to impose their will on the game. The game resembled a heavyweight boxing match as each team took turns giving and receiving each other's best shots. 
 
In the opening 20 minutes, MNU controlled the play. Their possession in the final third led to multiple opportunities on goal but they could not get the finishing touch just right. For the next 15 minutes, Davenport took their turn and pressed the Pioneers into their own defensive third. They created several chances and on one of those chances, MNU's Jonathan Taylor cleared a ball off the line to preserve the scoreless tie. The remaining minutes of the half saw MNU once again gain control of the match and create several good opportunities. Davenport's goalkeeper, Aaron Orban would not be beaten. 
 
The second half started off a bit differently. The Panthers came out strong in the first 10 minutes and the Pioneers were unable to really get much going. The chances that each team created in the first half were not coming quite as easily as each defense raised their game. MNU began to get a foothold in the game around the 55 minute mark but that foothold did not really produce any chances and it did not last long. Davenport's pressure once again mounted and the rhythm that MNU typically creates in the game was not there. That pressure began to lead to chances, but MNU's backline of Alvaro Beltran, Stephan Philippe, Frantzly Zephirin, and Taylor stood tall. With about 15 minutes left in the second half, MNU began to impose their style on the game. Several saves by Orban kept the game scoreless but there was a sense that a goal was coming. In the 83rd minute, that goal did come.  MNU's Eduardo Heringer collected a ball on the edge of the box. As he moved to his right looking for a pass he was able to elude a defender and then he sent a curling shot to the far post that just beat Orban. For the remaining seven minutes of the game, MNU frantically defended the onslaught that the Panthers brought. A shot with just over a minute left went just wide. The clock wound down to zero and the Pioneers had the shutout. Davenport had only been shutout one other time in their previous 21 matches.
 
For the game the shots for each team were even at 16-16. Shots on goal were 8-2 in MNU's favor. Orban finished the game with 7 saves. Juan Pablo Riesco had one save in earning the shutout. Davenport finished their season with a 16-3-3 record. MNU is now 17-5-1 on the year. Friday's semifinal match will be against Lindenwood University-Belleville. They defeated Columbia College 2-1 in the other quarterfinal match. The Heart of America Conference is well represented as Missouri Valley College will take on top seed University of Rio Grande on the other side of the bracket.