Upperclassman combo propels Morningside to GPAC semifinals

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – When it was needed most, a junior and senior on Morningside University head coach Tom Maxon's postseason roster stepped to the forefront Wednesday, Nov. 3.

Locked in a tense 1-1 draw with fifth-seeded Concordia University, junior forward Robin Thomala (Wipshausen, Germany), and senior midfielder Moritz Lusch (Bielefield, Germany) ahead to stay early in the second half. Lusch took possession of the ball, scooted through the CU defense on the Elwood Olsen Stadium pitch, and flipped the ball to Thomala, who beat the final defender and Bulldog goalkeeper Gabriel Mendoza to the right side of the visiting net. Thomala's second match decider and sixth overall successful offensive strike of the year, in the 55^th minute, held up behind more solid defensive backline play and junior goalkeeper Bjarne Huth (Bad Vilbel, Germany), who posted three saves.

Fourth-seeded Morningside's 2-1 victory was also headlined by a goal less than a minute and a half in from sophomore midfielder Victor Beker (Amsterdam, Netherlands). Beker took a pass from freshman midfielder Marcus Madsen (Lillerod, Denmark) and fired a rocket from the 25-yard line into the left corner of the net to give the home team a quick lead, much to the delight of the partisan Mustangs crowd. Concordia evened the contest right before halftime to set up Thomala and Lusch's heroics.

Mside, winning three straight and sporting a 12-6 record, advances to take on top-seeded Northwestern College on Saturday, Nov. 6. Match time at NWC's Soccer Complex in Orange City for the tourney semifinal is 7 p.m. 

NOTES: Maxon's program ran a current string of quarterfinal round league tournament victories to four … Their series win streak versus Concordia increased to five.