Pioneers Win in Final Seconds

After 89 minutes of knocking on the door, the Pioneers find the win in the last minute to secure victory over the Grand View Vikings. 

Today was the final match of the regular season for the MNU Pioneers, and they were looking to finish with a win to take them into the tournament. From the beginning of the match, the Pioneers held most of the possession as the Vikings held a deep line, suffocating any attack coming forward, showing little interesting in finding a goal themselves. However, the Vikings could be dangerous on the counter which meant that goalkeeper Anesa Curic and senior center back Sarah Schmidt had to be on their toes, ready for any looming threat. 

It was a real Operation Overlord waged by the Pioneers, attacking from land, sea, and air. Many a maneuver started with a switch across the MNU back four to attack down the opposite flank. Crosses were launched, through balls were played, and shots were taken from distance, but there seemed to be no crack in the hull of the Vikings' dragon boat. Coach Skelly Kellar mixed up the formation and tried players in unfamiliar positions to give as many looks as possible to the situation, and with time running off the clock, it looked like the Pioneers would be heading into another overtime. 

The Pioneers, however, were not very keen on OT and in the final minute, they found the winner they needed. After a counter attack was shut down by the Pioneer defense, the ball was sent up the left flank to find the foot of senior forward Denise Dantzler. Dantzler danced down to the end line, eluding the Vikings' defensive pressure. With a cutback, she then composed herself and found midfielder Riley Slack on top of the box who served it to a waiting Hannah Benedict. Benedict sturdied herself with a few battling touches around her defender and struck the ball into the upper right hand corner. Every Pioneer on the pitch surrounded Benedict in jubilation for the go-ahead goal but there were still forty seconds to put the game away. 

From the ensuing kick, the Vikings tried to storm the Pioneer goal, but were turned back. Senior Taryn McClendon was sent on a break and found a wide open Riley Slack for a shot that was saved but ruled to be offside. The seconds kept ticking as the Vikings set up their free kick, and as the ball was hoofed up the field, time expired.

The Pioneers fought and showed tremendous patience in working to break down a sturdy Viking defense. Hannah Benedict, who has proven herself a talisman for this MNU team in tight situations, showed once again her grit and tenacity to keep going until she gets a goal. Overall, it was a well-earned, hard-fought win for the Pioneers who now have a week off to prepare for their next match on Friday, November 4th, for their first game of the Heart of America Conference Tournament.