Pioneers Fall at Nationals

The MNU Men's Soccer team's season is over. After a 5th consecutive run to the National Tournament, the Pioneers fell 2-1 in the Round of 16. West Virginia University Institute of Technology moves on to the Round of 8 to face top seeded Hastings College. After a run to the National Championship game last year, this early exit is a disappointment for the Pioneers. The bar of expectation has been set high within the program and anything except a championship would be considered a letdown.

The team came out in the opening minutes and seemed to get off to a solid start. Nerves seemed to play a part in the decisions being made on the field and both teams were a bit hesitant. As the teams settled into the game, MNU began to establish their mark on the game. Somewhat against the run of play, WVU Tech suddenly was ahead.  In the 24th minute a ball on the end line that appeared to go out of play was not called. An ensuing cross to the far post was met by an unmarked Tech player and the Pioneers found themselves down 1-0. Just 6 minutes later the deficit was doubled. A cross to the far post neatly finished from close range. For only the second time all season the Pioneers found themselves down by more than 1 goal. This second goal seemed to wake the team up and they began to dominate the opportunities and before the half the WVU Tech keeper was called into action multiple times.

The second half was completely controlled by the Pioneers. A tail wind helped keep WVU Tech pinned into their own end. As the half wore on the chances began to come. Once again the WVU goalkeeper was called into action and time after time he made saves to keep the score 2-0. In the 72nd minute, MNU's Felipe Abreu was fouled in the box. The ensuing penalty kick was converted by Tanner Hunjak to cut the WVU Tech lead to 2-1. MNU continued to press but the equalizing goal would not come. A hard fought effort by the Pioneers was not rewarded.

For the game MNU outshot WVUT 22-10, with shots on goal being 9-6. Tech's keeper was credited with 8 saves. MNU's Yann Passet had 3 saves in the match. The Pioneers finish the season with a final record of 16-4-1. A special thanks to the seniors: Caio Barcelos, Austin Geist, Eduardo Heringer, Bryce McClanahan, Yann Passet, and Frantzly Zephirin. In the past four years, the program is 61-19-7 with two Heart of America titles, 4 National Tournament Sweet 16 appearances, and 1 National Runner-up.