M OR N IN GS ID E C O L L E G E
M ATC HDAY - M A RC H 2 1, 2 0 2 1
MUSTANG SOCCER It’s the final home pre-Great Plains Athletic Conference regular-season tune-up for National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ No. 14-ranked Morningside College this afternoon. The Mustangs, piecing together a split versus fellow top 20-ranked MidAmerica Nazarene and Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Baker University to begin their brief spring slate March 13 and 14, bring an 11-3-1 record into the second 2020-21 clash against the Warriors of Midland University. Midland is 5-5-1 and playing in its first spring match.
The Match-Up A thrilling 3-2 victory over MU last October stopped a 13-match winless streak for head coach Tom Maxon’s program in the all-time series. The decision went down to the wire at Elwood Olsen Stadium, as Mside posted a goal in the final two minutes to break a tie. Junior Nico Renzi took a flick off the foot of fellow Class of 2022 member Okan Golge and lofted a high shot that MU keeper Marco Moresco couldn’t clear and bounced into the back of the net for the eventual game-winner. Morningside’s offense continues to spend plenty of time among the national numbers’ penthouse suites. The team’s 55 assists and 3.67 per game average are both second-most, while the 54 goals scored over 15 matches sit fourth, and the 3.6 goals per outing average is 10th-highest. A tandem consisting of Golge, the two-time reigning GPAC offensive Player of the Year, and sophomore forward Robin Thomala is among the top five, too. Golge is second in goals (23), game-winning scores (six) and points (54). Thomala stands fifth in assists (nine). Thomala has been one of the program’s hottest players since the spring season began. He tallied three goals and an assist in last weekend’s Sunflower State tour. The second-year standout has posted five of his eight total successful offensive strikes in his last four appearances. Golge netted the eventual game-winner at Baker March 14. He scored it in the 21st minute of a 2-1 victory. The Maroon wound up the match with a 10-9 shots advantage. Maxon’s squad closes its pre-GPAC Championships schedule Wednesday, March 23, at Waldorf University.
ABOUT MIDLAND The senior forward duo of Liam Brandso and Mario Bueso have caused the opposition plenty of headaches this season. Bueso is among the nation’s top 20 in game-winning goals (three), and Brandso is within the best 30 in assists (six) and points (24) which both rank 27th. Sophomore netminder Matthew Ricci earned three victories and 26 of the team’s 35 saves during the fall. Head coach Raphael Martinez’s squad went 2-2-1 over the final five outings in the fall.