Columbia County, Ga. - The No. 1 Central Methodist men's soccer team saw their season come to an end with a 4-2 loss to Heart rival Missouri Valley College Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship in Columbia County, Ga.
The Eagles conclude their season with an overall record of 22-2, while the Vikings improve to 17-4-2. MVC advances to Monday's championship match where they will face No. 2 Oklahoma Wesleyan for the red banner.
Missouri Valley College jumped out in front early in the first half, scoring the first three goals of the match in just a 10 minute span. Central found themselves trailing 3-0 at halftime. CMU found the back of the net in the 75th minute, as Hunter Gilliam sent a cross in from 35 yards out, which Victor Luengo tapped in at the goal line to cut the lead to 3-1.
However, the Vikings stretched their lead back out to three with a goal just seven minutes later. In the 84th minute, sophomore defender Carlos Scheckermann was fouled inside the box and was awarded a penalty kick. He converted to trim the score to 4-2 in the 84th minute. The Eagles were unable to convert on any last minute chances, as MVC held on in the semifinal match.
Central finished the afternoon with 16 total shots and six shots on goal, compared to 12 shots for Missouri Valley College with six coming on frame. Alessandro Salvadego led the offense with three total shots including one on goal.
Tom Irion, Luengo, and Theo Klein each collected two shots, while Gilliam picked up the lone assist for CMU.
Central wraps 2020 with a conference regular season and tournament title, along with their third-straight trip to the national tournament and semifinal match.
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