A tough road test was anticipated and the game lived up to expectations as #2 MNU shut out #7 Columbia on Tuesday. The Cougars were 19-4 last year and advanced to the round of 8 in the National Tournament. They were 11-1 at home and Owen Stadium has historically been a tough place to pick up a result. The two teams met last year with MNU winning in overtime. The rematch finished with the Pioneers winning 3-0.
As some score lines do in soccer, the margin of victory doesn't do a good job of telling the true story. This was an intense affair, especially considering this was Columbia's first match of the season and only MNU's second. The game was incredibly physical from the opening whistle. Both teams looked to be in midseason form as the pace of the game was frenetic. MNU got on the board in the 21st minute. A nice sequence of passes from
Matias Cabello and
Eduardo Heringer led to
Felipe Abreu being open on the back post. He calmly slotted the ball near post for the opening goal. Just 8 minutes later, MNU doubled the lead.
Tanner Hunjak was fouled in the box and he stepped up to the PK spot to tally his first goal of the year. The Pioneers had to defensively buckle down as Columbia pressed for their opening goal. The Cougars forced MNU's
Juan Pablo Riesco into two fine saves to preserve the clean sheet headed into the halftime break.
The second half was a seemingly endless array of physical battles. The referee allowed the match to drift in and out of a rugby like scrum with some good futbol mixed in. MNU's back line of
Frantzly Zephirin,
Johannes Keisers, and
Jonathan Taylor did a great job of managing Columbia's opportunities. In a heated and emotional atmosphere the Pioneers stayed focused on the task at hand and that patience eventually paid off.
Trae Hunjak subbed in off of the bench and in the 79th minute he took a
Clark Campbell cross, settled it, and volleyed it back post for the 3-0 score line.
For the game MNU outshot CC 9-8, with shots on goal being 7-2 respectively. Iain McTurk for CC was credited with 4 saves. Riesco had 2 saves for MNU. Columbia is now 0-1 on the season. MNU moves to 2-0. Next up is MNU's home opener against Jamestown College at 1:00. The game is scheduled to be at Pioneer Field but stayed tuned to MNU Sports for updates in case the field doesn't dry out.
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