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mcclendon
1
Mount Mercy (Iowa) MERC (7-9, 2-8)
5
Winner MNU (Kan.) MNU (9-3-4, 7-2-1)
Mount Mercy (Iowa) MERC
(7-9, 2-8)
1
Final
5
MNU (Kan.) MNU
(9-3-4, 7-2-1)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Mount Mercy (Iowa) MERC 0 1 1
MNU (Kan.) MNU 3 2 5

Game Recap: Soccer (W) | | Sports Information Department

McClendon Shines on Senior Day

A hat trick from Taryn McClendon and supporting goals by Denise Dantzler and Alison Rice against the Mt. Mercy Mustangs give the MNU seniors something to smile about on their special day.
Four years ago, Coach Skelly Kellar's first recruiting class began playing for the MidAmerica Nazarene University Pioneers. This afternoon, Senior Day, was to be their penultimate regular season home match. Victories against Benedictine, preseason shenanigans on team trips through ropes courses, and countless memories shared amongst a sisterhood of soccer players ran through the seniors' minds over this homecoming weekend.
Today was an appropriate day for senior Taryn McClendon to hit her first hat trick of the year. The first two came from a very productive two minutes of play from the Pioneers. In the 8th minute RaeAnn Wiltshire sent in a fine bending cross into the box where McClendon got her head on the ball to bulge the net and give MNU the lead. Soon after the restart, Hannah Benedict received the ball on the right side and sprinted for the end line. She slotted a Senior Day gift to McClendon who had no other choice but to score. McClendon then wrapped up her hat trick in the 25th minute on another Wiltshire corner. This time, the cross went long and found senior Sarah Schmidt who headed the ball toward the net, receiving the slightest of touches from McClendon to go in for the third goal of the match.
In the second half, the Pioneers kept up the pressure on Mt Mercy, but Mustangs' forward Carly Walker found some space down the right and aimed a deadly shot to the far corner to put her team on the board. However, this would be the only goal by the Mustangs this afternoon as McClendon, already with a glut of goals, turned provider for fellow senior forward Denise Dantzler. McClendon received the ball on the top of the Mustangs' box and found Dantzler streaking down the left flank who set up a shot with her left foot and buried it in the side netting.
Spirits ran high amongst the Pioneer ladies and their fans, and forward Alison Rice would add another nugget of joy to the match in the 74th minute. With a pass from freshman Lauren Koker, Rice strafed down the right flank into the Mustangs' box. Cutting the ball back with her right foot, and with a Curry-esque stutter step, she threw off her defender before curling a beautiful dipping shot in the opposite corner for the fifth MNU goal of the day.
When the whistle blew, the entire team swarmed their seniors and congratulated them on a good day at the office. A post-match senior ceremony commenced where all 8 of MNU's seniors were celebrated. Taryn "Grandma T" McClendon, RaeAnn Wiltshire, Kelli Reid, Lizzie Cifuentes, Sarah Schmidt, Breanna FitzGerald, Denise Danztler, and Shelbi "Durf" Durfee have all created a boisterous, fun and competitive culture within the MNU Women's Soccer Program, and their contributions will be felt by future recruiting classes through the years. Thank you, ladies, for your influence on the program and the school. You'll all be missed tremendously.
The Pioneers final regular season home match will be on Tuesday, October 25th. Come on by for a fun afternoon of soccer and to say goodbye to this exceptional senior class.
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