WOMEN'S SOCCER
MEN'S SOCCER WINS BOTH Conference and Conference Tournament
Finishes Strong
Through some tough early results, the Missouri Valley College women’s soccer team was still able to assemble a successful season. The team had a rocky start to the 2023 campaign, but once the Vikings put the right pieces together, they were able to get the ball rolling. The Vikings went on a pair of separate seven-game winning streaks during the season, resulting in a 10-1 conference record. The regular season success helped Missouri Valley seize the program’s first Heart of America Athletic Conference Postseason Tournament title, which included a come-from-behind win over highly-ranked Central Methodist in the championship game. The tournament title punched the team’s ticket into the 2023 NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championship. The Vikings earned a bye into the second round and hosted a national tournament game for the first time in program history. In a rematch from a game played earlier in the season, Missouri Valley welcomed the Hastings Broncos to Gregg-Mitchell Field. With the game still tied at 1-1 after regulation and two overtime periods the contest came down to penalty kicks. Hastings out-paced the Vikings in the penalty kick shootout bringing an end to a successful season for Missouri Valley. The Vikings finished with a 15-4-3 overall record. The team put seven student-athletes on the Heart All- Conference Team, including Heart Offensive Player of the Year and leading scorer Ashley Arribas who ended the season with a program-record of 20 goals. Arribas was named a third team NAIA All-American.
The Missouri Valley College men’s soccer team put together a very successful 2023 season. The Vikings played through some tough games at the beginning of the season, but eventually strung together a seven- game winning streak. The highlight of that early- season streak was a 1-0 win at home over a nationally ranked MidAmerica Nazarene. The team found success through the rest of the conference schedule to finish with a 9-2 record in the Heart, which put the Vikings on top as the Heart of America Athletic Conference regular season champions. The Vikings followed with three-straight postseason wins to capture the Heart Postseason Tournament title. Following both championships was an automatic berth into the 2023 NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship and bye into the second round. Earning the program’s 12th hosting bid all-time in the national tournament, the Vikings welcomed to Gregg- Mitchell Field the Cumberland Phoenix. With a final score of 6-3, the Vikings advanced to the third round. Missouri Valley fell to St. Thomas, but Sam Green’s lone goal gave him 45 points on the season, and allowed him to tie the program’s record for single- season points. The Vikings ended their season with a 14-6 overall. The team put eight student-athletes on the Heart All-Conference Team, including Kazuki Hashimoto who was also named Heart Defensive Player of the Year. Additionally, four Vikings were named NAIA All-Americans, including first team selections Hashimoto and Green, second team selection Tate Richards and third team selection Yoshiki Igarashi.
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