Warriors Earn Hard-Fought Win Over Briar Cliff

FREMONT, Neb. – Midland University returned to action on Saturday as it welcomed Briar Cliff University for a Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) contest. The game was hard fought and highly contested between the two sides and was ultimately won by the Warriors, 1-0.

"This was the biggest win of our season," stated head coach Josh Nakayama, "We played a total game."

Midland put the pressure on early, getting three shots in the first two and a half minutes. A pair of the attacks sent away with a block while the other was corralled for a save by the Chargers keeper.

The first half was an even battle with each offense forcing three saves from the opposing keeper while combining for 14 fouls between the two teams. Midland only had five of those fouls but did pick up a pair of yellow cards during the opening 45 minutes. One caution was issued to Joel Auther Bazayemekele in the 29th minute followed by one to Lucas Foreman in the 42nd minute.

The closest either side came to an opening goal in the first half was when Briar Cliff crossed the ball into the box and an attacker fired the ball at the net from close range. Hugo Sjoeberg made a quick reflex save before the ball looped up, forcing Thomas Gibson to make an acrobatic clearance to send the game into halftime tied 0-0. 

Briar Cliff came out of the locker room trying to force the issue and put Midland's defense under pressure early. The first three shots of the second half came from the Chargers but they were unable to find the target.

The Warriors found the breakthrough goal with their first shot in the second half. After Hugo Garcia-Rosado Duran took a free kick from the right edge of the box, he looped a cross over the Briar Cliff keeper who tried to come out and collect it. Brandon Toledo was able to battle ahead of his defender and head the ball into the unoccupied net for a goal in the 56th minute.

Midland didn't stop there as it pushed for another score to bolster its lead with three shots, including an attack by Matheus Nascimento in the following moments. That shot, from the edge of the box, looked destined for the top right corner before an outstretched hand from the Chargers' goalkeeper tipped it over the bar.

The Warriors thought they had an insurance goal moments later when the ball found Bazayemekele on the back post from a corner. He was able to turn and fire it into the net from close range but he had come from an offside position, ruling out the goal in the 70th minute.

Briar Cliff had its comeback chances take a hit in the final moments of the game as Finlay Skilling picked up a pair of yellow cards in five minutes. The first came in the 79th minute and the second came in the 84th minute, earning himself an early dismissal and forcing the Chargers to play with 10 men for the remainder of the game. Nevertheless, BCU continued to attack as a cross found the head of Cole Van Holland, forcing Sjoeberg to scramble and make another save, pushing the ball past the post wide.

"Sjoeberg was incredible in goal," Nakayama added. "We defended hard and kept the clean sheet."

Sjoeberg and the backline's efforts proved enough to earn the 1-0 win and the three points for the Warriors. Brandon Toledo picked up his second goal of the season while Garcia earned his fourth assist. Sjoeberg earned five saves in his 90 minutes of work.

"[I'm] very proud. We need to keep winning and give ourselves a chance to be top in the conference," said Nakayama in closing.

Midland (5-5-4, 3-1-2 GPAC) will be back in action on Wednesday as it travels to take on Hastings (6-6-2, 4-1-2 GPAC), who is currently leading the conference standings. The midweek match is scheduled for at 8:00 p.m. on October 16 in Hastings, Neb.