Fayette, Mo. – The Central Methodist women's soccer team claimed back-to-back Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament titles, defeating rival Missouri Valley College 1-0 Saturday night at Davis Field in the final.
The Eagles improve to 18-3 overall while the Vikings fall to 12-7. In addition, Central has now won three of the last four conference tournaments with Saturday's victory.
In the first half, Central maintained possession of the ball but remained scoreless going into halftime. Central finished with four shots with two being on goal while the Vikings took one shot on goal.
In the second half, Missouri Valley amped up the pace to match the Eagles' energy. However, in the 86th minute, senior defender Sara Cobollo crossed the ball into the box, finding fellow senior Anika Kallash on a header which found the back of the net for the game-winner.
Central finished the game with nine shots with five being on goal. Cobollo and Kallash led the team with two shots, and Cobollo added the game-winning assist to her stat line. Kitti Torok, Elli McCabe, Andrea Villar, Nely Martinez, and Roneisha Frank each added one shot for CMU.
Sheila Sanchez played 90 minutes and recorded three saves in her 18 win of the season.
Both sides have qualified for the NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship set to begin on April 15. The selection show will air Monday, April 12 at 11:30 a.m. which will determine where CMU will play in the opening round.
#TakeFlight
