Official Great Midwest Men's Soccer Championship Page
NEW CONCORD, Ohio – The top two seeds of the bracket both secured their place for Saturday’s Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championship game following their wins in the semifinals on Thursday.
No. 1 Ohio Valley blanked No. 4 Cedarville in the early game by a score of 4-0 before No. 2 Davis & Elkins edged No. 3 Findlay in a 2-1 final.
OVU and D&E, both regionally ranked, will clash in what should be a battle for the ages on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET on the campus of Muskingum University.
Ohio Valley and Davis & Elkins both strengthened their position to represent the league in the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional as either the automatic qualifier or as an at-large selection.
The Fighting Scots outgunned an undermanned Cedarville team that has been decimated with injuries, most notably all-conference selections John Schwien and Derek Braak.
OVU took a commanding 3-0 lead in the first half while outshooting the Yellow Jackets 18-0 in the first half. The Fighting Scots showcased their overall depth (eight all-conference team selections) by deploying the second unit with time to spare before the intermission.
Precision passing from sophomore Alexandre Horveno led to two assists, including a set piece on the corner kick, helped the home team gain the advantage.
“It’s a good victory, but it is not finished,” Horveno said. “We are looking forward to Saturday, but the moment, it is not finished for us.”
Horveno’s first assist resulted in a header for Miguel Campos. Less than three minutes later, Nicolas Rodriguez scored the first of two goals on the day and Guillermo Segovia netted another goal before halftime.
OVU head coach Luis Rincon had to exit the facility as soon as the contest was completed in order to coach his women’s program in the Great Midwest semifinals at Marietta College.
Cedarville advanced into the semifinals following a quarterfinal victory against No. 4 seed Alderson Broaddus. The Yellow Jackets finished their season with a 9-9-1 record.
After a scoreless first half, Davis & Elkins and Findlay each looked more comfortable in the final 45 minutes as all scoring occurred after the break. D&E sophomore forward Tim Staerz wreaked havoc in the middle of the field along with Simon Hestad, as the pair accounted for the Senators’ scoring.
“We’ve been working on things and it’s been a process and these players have all been involved with this,” D&E head coach Frank Olzewski said. “It has been a group to work with and we’re excited to be in the position that we’re in now.”
Davis & Elkins was relentless finding positioning in the box and it paid off as the playmaking of Staerz, freshly named to the all-conference first team, scored his 13th goal of the year in the 64th minute.
He then fed Hestad with a quick, no-look pass down the seam to score D&E’s second goal 14 minutes later for the 2-0 lead.
The Oilers were able to score off a set sequence as Josh Dickinson played the corner short to teammate Jacob Montag and the play was finished off on a beautiful header by Kegan Winkler.
Findlay finished its season at 13-6 overall.
The championship game on Saturday is set for an a 11 a.m. ET start at Muskingum University.