Fayette, Mo. - The No. 1 Central Methodist Men's Soccer program secured a trip to its fifth consecutive Heart Tournament title match, defeating No. 4 Grand View 5-3 in the semifinals Wednesday night at Davis Field. 

Central improves its overall record to 14-0-5, while the Vikings see their season come to an end with a final record of 10-7-3.

The first half was an offensive slugfest, as there were a combined six goals between the two teams. A defensive miscue by Central led Grand View to score the opening goal in the 13th minute of play. The Eagles didn't take long to respond as Jesse Bank scored on a header via a throw in from Isaac Johnson just four minutes later to tie the match at 1-1. 

Following a foul inside the box, the Eagles were awarded a penalty kick in the 21st minute. Central's Stefano Campisi took the PK and converted to give Central their first lead of the match, 2-1. 

Grand View matched Central in the 24th minute on a header, before Cian Halpin netted a goal off the assist from Jeremiah Johnson and Alvaro Perojo in the 28th minute. 

Jayton Johnson pushed Central's lead to 4-2 in the closing minutes of the first half with his third goal of 2022. The Eagles would enter the halftime break with a 4-2 lead. 

Liam Arthur padded CMU's lead to 5-2 following a score with the assist from Sebastian Bocaz Canales just seven minutes into the second half. Despite a goal from the Vikings in the 66th minute, Central held on for the 5-3 victory. 

The Eagles finished the afternoon with 26 total shots including 10 on frame, compared to 13 shots and seven on goal for Grand View. 

Central got balanced offensive pressure from up and down the lineup, as 12 different Eagles tallied one shot, including five players scoring a goal. 

Yannick Schoeni earned his third win of the year, playing the first 45 minutes of action between the posts and recording two saves. Beer De Vos played the final 45 to close the match out and secure another Heart Tournament Title bid for Central. 

CMU will host No. 7 seeded William Penn in the Heart Championship Saturday, Nov. 12 at 6:00 p.m. at Davis Field. 

The Statesmen have played the role of Cinderella in the tournament, upsetting the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds on the road en-route to their first conference championship in school history. 

The last meeting between the two sides resulted in a 2-2 tie back on Oct. 29 in Fayette. 

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