Courtesy of Midland Athletics
FREMONT, Neb. – Midland University hosted Briar Cliff for their Senior Night match on Wednesday. The Warriors and the Chargers played to a 1-1 tie through 90 minutes on the pitch at Heedum Field. With the decision, Midland’s record advances to 8-4-5 overall and 4-3-3 (15 points) in the Great Athletics Plains Conference (GPAC). Briar Cliff moves to 4-7-6 on the year and 2-3-5 (11 points) in the conference.
Before the game, seniors Matthew Ricci, Tomas Pereira, Connor Lambert, Dawson Butcher, Alex Mee, Carlos Covo, Thomas Crawford, Guilherme Demhougi, and Gonzalo Bocaz were honored as the Class of 2022 on the field alongside their family and friends.
Midland opened the game strong offensively, with four shots to just three by Briar Cliff in the first 45 minutes. Butcher had a pair of header attempts near the 34th minute but the teams were held in check by the defenses.
After the break, the Warriors were eager to put points on the board. Thomas Crawford broke the deadlock on the scoreboard as he notched the ball in the top of the box off an assist by Thomas Moulder in the 65th minute.
The Chargers were quick to fire back with the equalizer. In the 71st minute, a header goal brought the game to a tie. Each team attempted a pair of shots down the stretch but each time they were off target or were thwarted by the goalkeeper.
Midland had an overall lead in shot attempts on the night (11-10) with seven on the frame. They had more opportunities in set pieces (6-3) as well.
Matthew Ricci played a full 90 minutes in goal on his senior night. He picked up three saves for the Warriors as they earned one point in the conference standings.
“First off, big thanks to all the seniors in the program. I’m honored to have the opportunity to work with them,” commented head coach Josh Nakayama. “It was a great game of football for all the spectators. Some really good passages of play and combinations. Both goals were class. We had a few really good chances to win the game. I’m happy we are getting into those positions. What a great goal for Crawford on senior night. It was great to say goodbye to Heedum in his last home game. While we are unbeaten in the past five GPAC games, we need to continue to improve as we move forward.”
Midland (8-4-5, 4-3-3 GPAC) will travel to Yankton, South Dakota to take on Mount Marty (7-5-3, 3-5-2 GPAC) in the final Great Athletics Plains Conference match of the regular season. The matchup will occur on a Saturday, October 29, with a scheduled start of 7:30 p.m.
