Mustang
SOCCER SUNDAY, SEPT. 5 This afternoon, the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference and Great Plains Athletic Conference collide on the Elwood Olsen Stadium pitch. Head coach Tom Maxon’s men’s and women’s teams resume a season-opening three-match homestand. The stint began with a split against Heart of America Conference foe William Penn University on Aug. 28. The Cardinal Stritch University Wolves, coached by Jaime Bladen, stood 0-1 on the men’s side and 0-0-1 in women’s action going into a doubleheader at crosstown GPAC member Briar Cliff University Friday.
THE SERIES CSU’s men and women both hold advantages versus the Mustangs all-time. The women have won two of three, but each match has been decided by only one goal, and Morningside upended then No. 24-ranked Cardinal Stritch in the series opener in 2017. The men’s annals show the Wolves with a 2-0-1 upper hand, including a current stretch of back-to-back shutouts.
THE MATCH-UP A freshman offensive combo turned out to be the key for Morningside’s women in their season opener on Aug. 28. Forward Ebba Torgner and classmate Antonia Janssen, playing in the midfield area, proved vital in the match-deciding goal of a 3-2 intersectional win over William Penn. Torgner picked Statesmen goalkeeper Katja Bierman clean on the edge of the goal box nearly off the overtime whistle. As she tried to turn upfield and deposit the ball into an empty net, she was drug down, creating a penalty kick situation in front of an approving crowd at Elwood Olsen Stadium. Janssen showed no signs of jitters, firing a shot into the net for the winning score and sending the Mustangs’ bench piling out on the FieldTurf. The deciding strike concluded a back and forth battle. Mside led 1-0 and 2-1 due to goals from two more newcomers in the form of midfielder Natahlie Larsson and forward Ellie Gengler. Larsson and Torgner guided a three-to-one shots advantage (24-8) with five attempts apiece. William Penn’s men enabled the visitors to return to south-central Iowa with a victory in the nightcap. A fleet attack from the Statesmen offense saw them take a 2-0 lead just over 20 minutes
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