Men’s soccer ties MNU 1-1

Story by Bailey Conklin, Sports Editor

The No. 4 ranked Baker men’s soccer team earned its first tie in Heart competition in a 1-1 draw against rival No. 20 ranked MNU Tuesday afternoon.

The Wildcats held the Pioneers off in the first half, leaving both teams scoreless at the start of the second half.

MNU was the first to score in the 68th minute, from sophomore Ivan Ruiz Vidal. This was Vidal’s second goal of the season.

It didn’t take long for Baker to respond. Less than 40 seconds later, sophomore Joah Hickel tied the match with a goal of his own.

Baker played a defensive rest of the half with only three shots to the Pioneers’ seven. Baker sophomore goalkeeper Alberto Ciroi picked up two saves in the first half and one more in the second half, followed by one in each overtime. Ciroi now totals 49 saves this year.

After two 10-minute overtime halves, the match ended in a 1-1 time.

After the tie, Baker is now 9-1-1 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference and 13-2-2 overall.

The Pioneers are now 7-2-2 in the Heart and 11-3-2 overall.

The ‘Cats tie comes just four days after their 2-0 senior night victory against Avila at Liston Stadium. Before the victory, the Wildcats honored ten seniors for their time on the team.

The Wildcats will now travel to face No. 5 ranked Missouri Valley College for their last regular-season game.

Baker will face the Vikings at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday in Marshall, Missouri.

The Wildcats sit at the top of the conference standings with the Vikings just one game behind. With a win over Missouri Valley, Baker will secure the 2017 Heart regular season championship outright.