MVC Round-up: Vikings finish second in HAAC men's soccer

The Missouri Valley College men's soccer team will ride a three-match win streak into the Heart of America Conference Post-season Tournament.

By defeating Central Methodist, 2-0, Saturday in Fayette and Lindenwood, 2-1, at home Monday, the Vikings rose to second place in the league's final regular season standings.

Junior Ryan Pow scored both goals to beat the Eagles (6-9-2, 1-6-1 HAAC), with senior goalkeeper Igor Lima making three saves for his sixth shutout of the season.

Valley was seven minutes from beating the Lions (7-9-2, 5-3-1) on a goal by senior Carlos Arribas, but junior Hannes Backstrom tied it up. The Vikings regained the lead for good less than three minutes later on a shot by sophomore Eduardo Da Silva.

By finishing second to Benedictine, Valley (10-4-3, 6-2-1) will get a first-round bye in the six-team tourney and host a semifinal match Wednesday.

Women's Soccer

Even splitting their final two matches, the Lady Vikings were unable to extend their season into the conference women's soccer tournament next week.

Valley (5-11, 3-6 HAAC) scored both of its goals during the first 10 minutes Saturday for a 2-0 win at Central Methodist (10-7-1, 3-6), with which it tied for eighth place in the regular season. Shots by sophomore Amanda Rainer and junior Jessica Yach and junior Hannah Harrison's six saves fueled the victory.

Both Harrison and Lindenwood freshman Jessica Morelli both made five stops, but the Lady Lions (8-8-1, 4-4-1) won Tuesday's tilt, 1-0, on sophomore Nina Caputa's goal in the 61st minute.

Women's Volleyball

Monday's four-set loss at Benedictine to close the regular season kept the Valley women's volleyball team out of the Heart of America Conference Post-season Tournament.

By beating MidAmerica Nazarene (19-18, 4-5), 26-28, 25-20, 25-20, 18-25, 15-9, in Saturday's home finale, the Lady Vikings kept their hopes alive.

Valley evened its match against the Lady Ravens (24-6, 7-3) after two games, but tapered off at the end during a 25-21, 22-25, 25-11, 25-14 loss.

The Lady Vikings (12-19, 3-7) tied Culver-Stockton for eighth place in the standings, but was eliminated for the final playoff spot by virtue of their five-set Oct. 27 road loss to the Lady Wildcats.

Women's Wrestling

HAMILTON, Ont. -- Valley freshman Randi Beltz made an impressive debut on the women's college mat circuit Saturday by winning the 59-kilogram division of the McMaster Open in Hamilton, Ont.

Fresh off her gold medal at the Pan American Junior Championships, Beltz didn't allow opponents to score a point in three matches, including an 8-0 semifinal decision over Cumberlands (Ky.) senior Nena Garcia -- ranked fifth in the WCWA pre-season poll.

Beltz, who opened at No. 5 in the 59-kilogram class, defeated the Lady Patriots' Liza Gutierrez, 13-0, in the title match. Meanwhile, Valley junior Rachel Pike took four of her five matches to claim third place.

The Lady Vikings brought home five more medals. Sophomore Britney Heatherly (48 kilograms) and freshman Jordan Hagerman (72) came in fourth and sophomore Brittany Bertolani (51), sophomore Summer Sistad (55) and freshman Tamara Hartfield (72) placed fifth.

Valley will be in Oklahoma City this weekend for Saturday duals against Missouri Baptist and the host Stars.

Rodeo

MURRAY, Ky. -- The Missouri Valley men's rodeo team widened its lead in the NIRA Ozark Region standings for the winter break by claiming its fourth straight victory Saturday at the Murray State (Ky.) Rodeo.

The Lady Vikings got their second title of the first half of the season with 300 points, senior Krista Staley of Princeton, Ill., winning goat tying and placing second in breakaway roping for all of the scoring and the women's overall buckle.

The Valley men won three events, including a 1-2 finish in saddle bronc riding by senior Adam Gilchrist and junior Will Smith. Senior Jake Shaw was first in steer wrestling and the team roping combo of junior Jared Kempker and senior Brady Wilson beat the field by 3.3 seconds.

The Vikings take a lead of 4,245 to 3,140 points over Tennessee-Martin into the second half of the season.