Mustang
SOCCER WEDNESDAY, OCT. 13 As the men’s and women’s soccer edition of the Crosstown Showdown visits Elwood Olsen Stadium tonight, the race for the 2021 Great Plains Athletic Conference regular-season championships and post-season tournament top seed continues to be neck-and-neck. On the men’s standings, Northwestern College, clashing with league rival Dordt University tonight in Sioux Center, has a one-match lead over Briar Cliff with head coach Tom Maxon’s Morningside University Mustangs tied with Hastings for third and only two matches out of the top spot. The women’s standings have a similar theme. BCU and the University of Jamestown are unbeaten, with Mside and the College of Saint Marty virtually tied for third (CSM 4-2/Mustangs 4-2-1) and Midland University close behind that knot at 4-3.
THE SERIES Morningside’s women hold a 15-6 all-time margin against Briar Cliff. However, the Chargers have captured two of the last three meetings, including a 2-1 thriller on their home pitch the previous fall. The men’s annals couldn’t be any closer over the last seven meetings. Each of the outcomes in the span has been decided by one goal or less, with a double-overtime tie at Briar Cliff in 2020 included. Mside has a 15-7-3 all-time advantage.
THE MATCH-UP Maxon’s women’s team, sporting a 7-3-1 overall and 4-2-1 GPAC record, is getting National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ notice statistically speaking. They’re part of the national numbers’ top 50 in penalty kick conversion success (two-for-two – No. 39), total shots (199 – No. 43), and shots per match (18.1 – No. 45). Individually, freshman forward Ebba Torgner and freshman midfielder Victoria Stausholm, who have two game-winning strikes, are just outside the first 50 (No. 57) in the category. Winners of three in a row and entering the evening at 8-4 overall and 5-2 in the conference, Morningside’s men are led by one of the nation’s top offenses. Their 40 goals rank in a tie for 12th, while the 41 assists that have helped lead to those scores are tied for first. A trio featuring senior midfielders Moritz Lusch and Noah Aniser and sophomore forward Gero Zarbo has keyed the output. Lusch has eight goals and eight assists to his credit; Aniser has posted six goals and three assists, and Zarbo’s compiled six goals and two assists. Junior forward Robin Thomala has also made hay offensively with five goals, while sophomore midfielder/forward Victor Beker’s eight assists have figured in, too.
continued on page four