Late goal, penalty kicks subdue Mustangs in NAIA tournament

No. 14-ranked Morningside College, seeking a second successive season in which they registered a national tournament victory, overcame an early 1-0 deficit at the hands of No. 16-ranked MidAmerica Christian University of Oklahoma. Senior forward Austin Lingle (SR/Sioux City, Iowa) (Sioux City, Iowa) and freshman midfielder/forward Victor Beker (FR/Amsterdam, Netherlands) (Amsterdam, Netherlands) each found the back of the Evangels' net in a 10-minute span between the 48^th and 58^th minutes of the second half, giving head coach Tom Maxon's squad a 2-1 advantage.

However, as the clock ticked down to the end of regulation, MACU responded. A corner kick found the head of junior forward Mason Gonzalez, who flicked into the left-hand corner of the Mustangs' goal with less than a minute and a half remaining for a 2-2 tie.

After two 10-minute overtime sessions produced solid chances for a golden score but nothing to show on the scoreboard, the two teams went to penalty kicks. MACU advanced to the first-round championship making all but one of five, while the Maroon converted two of four.

"It's a tough way to go out because I thought ourselves and MACU were the two best teams at the site and could have moved on to the location of the finals," Maxon noted postgame. "Our guys put themselves in a position to get the win in regulation, but a recent challenging trend of not closing out matches cost us again.

I'm very proud of our seniors for getting us to this opportunity," he added. "They've been great leaders throughout what has been a crazy season. I know the individuals who will step into those roles next year have a good understanding of what needs to be done to lead the program because of what they have done."

Sophomore forward Robin Thomala (SO/Wipshausen, Germany) (Wisphausen, Germany) led the offense in shot tries with four overall and three on frame. Lingle had two on goal with his successful shot included. Sophomore goalkeeper Bjarne Huth (SO/Bad Vilbel, Germany) (Bad Vilbel, Germany) came up big again for the defense forging eight saves on MACU's ten shot on goal efforts.