Soccer Squads End Season in National Tournament Women Fall to No. 2 in Double OT
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he Central Methodist women’s soccer team finished the 2022 campaign with a final record of 19-3-1, including an 11-0-1 mark in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. With their nearperfect record in Heart play, CMU secured its fourth consecutive Heart Regular Season Championship. Central earned the No. 1 seed in the Heart Tournament, winning three-straight games, including a thriller over No. 3 MNU in the championship game. The Eagles cemented their dynasty with their fourth straight Heart Tournament title, becoming only the second team in conference history to win four tournament championships. In addition, Central earned seven Heart All-Conference selections,
Nichols Reaches 150 Career Wins
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he Central Methodist men’s soccer program continued its historic run in the Heart of America Athletic Conference in 2022. CMU won the Heart Regular Season Championship for the fifth consecutive season, with a final conference mark of 9-0-3. Central then
50 The Talon | Fall 2022
including Player and Offensive Player of the Year Sandra Jakobsen, Defensive Player of the Year Laura Riesenbeck, and Coach of the Year Dan Schmidlin. Jakobsen is now a two-time Heart Player and Offensive Player of the Year, and Riesenbeck was named the Heart Defensive Player of the Year for the third straight season. CMU was selected to host the first and second rounds of the NAIA National Championship in nearby Columbia on Nov. 17-19 as the No. 1 seed. The Eagles defeated No. 4 seeded Cardinal Stritch 2-0 in the first round before falling to No. 2 Aquinas in the second round in double overtime, 2-1.
cruised through the Heart Tournament as the No. 1 seed, defeating upstart No. 7 William Penn in the championship game by a score of 4-0 on Nov. 12. The win over William Penn cemented Central’s dynasty with its fourth-straight Heart Conference Tournament title. Central earned seven Heart All-Conference selections, including Defensive Player of the Year Jesse Bank, Freshman of the Year Beer De Vos, and Heart Coach of the Year Alex Nichols. Coach Nichols, a five-time Heart Coach of the Year winner, secured his 150th career win in the Heart Tournament Quarterfinals against No. 8 Mount Mercy on Nov. 5. Central hosted the first and second rounds of the NAIA National Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the Columbia Bracket. CMU cruised past Saint Mary in the first round 8-0 on Nov. 17 before falling to No. 3 Rio Grande 1-0 in the second round on Nov. 19. CMU finished the year with a 16-1-5 overall record. Central served as the nation’s No. 1 ranked team on two different occasions this fall during the regular season.