Mustang
SOCCER SATURDAY, SEPT. 18 This evening, a pair of key early-season Great Plains Athletic Conference battles take to the Elwood Olsen Stadium pitch. Both squads from the host Morningside University and visiting the University of Jamestown are undefeated in league competition. Mside’s women, 1-0 in the GPAC, are 3-1 overall behind back-to-back victories, while the Mustangs’ men’s squad, also 1-0 in conference play, has reeled off four wins in a row towards a 4-1 overall mark. The Jimmies are 6-0 overall and 1-0 in the GPAC on the women’s side, and the men stand 2-1-1 overall and 1-0 in the loop.
THE SERIES Mside’s men hold a 9-4-1 lead all-time due to six successive triumphs. Due to a 4-2-1 edge in the last seven contests, Jamestown’s women have closed the deficit on the historical annals to 7-4-2 in Morningside’s favor.
THE MATCH-UP Head coach Tom Maxon’s teams began their week on the offensive in a conference sweep of Presentation College on Sept. 16. A substantial second-half scoreboard attack from the women and a historical outing for the men characterized the sweep. With an appreciative fan base looking on, the Mustangs delivered offense and plenty of it against the visiting Saints. The women broke open a 1-0 advantage at halftime with seven scores, including four in the first 15 minutes that led to an 8-0 victory. The men, ranked No. 21 on the recent National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics poll, hammered the PC defense to the tune of eight goals in the opening 45 minutes as part of an 11-1 win. Sophomore defender/forward Jil Hellerforth highlighted the outing. Her three-goal, one-assist afternoon marked the program’s first hat trick since 2015 and headlined the most team scores in a match since 2016. It was more of the same in the second half of the rare Thursday matinee. For just the second time in program history, Mside’s men reached 10-or-more goals in a match, rolling to an 11-1 victory. A quartet of individuals led the attack, as senior midfielders Moritz Lusch and Noah Aniser, junior forward Robin Thomala, and sophomore midfielder/forward Victor Beker produced a goal and two assists. Along the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ numbers, Maxon’s women’s team holds down an impressive No. 16 ranking in shots per match (22.5). Regarding the GPAC, Hellerforth’s hat trick rocketed her up to the first five in goals (three – No. 4). Senior goalkeeper Sarah Finn is turning heads across the league. She’s first in goals-against average,
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