The MNU Men's Soccer team finished off an incredible week with a 2-1 victory over previously undefeated and #2 in the country Baker University on Friday at Liston Stadium. With an incredible crowd on hand to witness this epic duel, neither team disappointed. A definite clash in styles, as Baker likes to get the ball forward quickly and MNU is known for its possession and build up, set this game up to be an instant classic. And for MNU it was just that.
In the 12th minute of the first half,
Trent Remmich was fouled in the box and MNU was awarded a penalty kick. MNU's leading goal scorer stepped up and calmly dispatched his 25th goal of the season to give MNU the 1-0 lead. Baker was now forced to really push forward and the game began to open up. With the Wildcats being extremely dangerous on their set pieces, MNU was forced to defend on numerous occasions. They answered the call on every situation in the first half and went into the halftime break with the one-goal lead.
The second half started off with each team creating minimal chances from the run of play and most of the offense coming from set pieces. With 28:56 left on the clock, MNU had a set piece that was served into the box and after a couple of touches,
Luke Pontin hammered home an incredible volley to extend MNU's lead to 2-0. It was Pontin's second goal in as many games and proved to be the game winner. From this point on it was all Baker. They threw everything forward and created numerous opportunities from their set pieces. Finally, a long throw-in was inadvertently flicked into the goal by an MNU player. The own goal made the score 2-1 and set up a tense final 14 minutes. MNU was able to hold onto their one-goal advantage and in doing so not only won the Championship game, but also automatically qualified for the NAIA National Tournament that will start next weekend.
To recap the week that the Pioneers had: They won 3 games in 5 days, all on the road, against the #24, #6, and #2 ranked teams in the country. “I have always said that this is one of the best conferences in the country,” stated Coach Wardlaw. “It is a privilege to be a part of it and to have the opportunity to play in games like we did this week against incredible opponents. I am at a loss for words at how proud I am of this team. They created memories this week that they will be telling their grandkids about some day.”
Baker University (17-1-1), Missouri Valley (14-2-1), and Benedictine (15-3) will now wait to find out who gets into the National Tournament as an At-Large bid and where they will play. MNU (13-7-1) will be waiting to see who their opponent will be. The NAIA will announce the national tournament field on Sunday afternoon.
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