Warriors Break Drought, Edge Hastings on the Road

HASTINGS, Neb. – Midland University returned to action on Wednesday night as it traveled to Hastings College for another Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) contest. The Warriors overcame an early deficit to earn a 3-2 win over the Broncos in an intense and physical battle. The win puts the Warriors in a tie with three other teams at the top of the GPAC standings at 14 points. The win was the first for Midland on the road against Hastings in the regular season since 2013 and only the fifth out-right win over the Broncos in program history.

"I'm incredibly proud of this team, we played a great game," said head coach Josh Nakayama. "We have put ourselves in a position to contend for the conference's top spot."

The Broncos got the scoring started early as they sent a free kick into the box in the 4th minute. Hugo Sjoeberg came out and punched the ball clear but only as far as Lorenz Stickel. He sent the ball back into the box, finding Tim Berger. Berger, with his back to goal, chested the ball in front and then tried an audacious bicycle kick that looped over Sjoeberg and into the net, earning Hastings a 1-0 lead early.

Midland was able to gather itself and grow into the game, keeping possession and outshooting the Broncos 7-3 from minute 10 until they went into the locker rooms for halftime.

That growing possession and pressure on the Hastings backline provided dividends in the 18th as a Broncos' clearance was sent back to the edge of the box. Joel Auther Bazayemekele was able to win an aerial duel and loop a header past the defenders who were trying to push up after the clearance. That allowed Brayden Wright to run in behind, get on the end of the header, and pass the ball into the bottom right corner of the net for an equalizing goal.

The Warriors' attack did not stop there. In the 34th minute, Bazayemekele was able to intercept a pass before thumping it up to the front line to find Adnan Boulaghmal who displayed great skill to keep the ball and fire a shot off the right post. The ball came straight out into the center of the box where Hugo Garcia-Rosado Duran, the GPAC's leading goal scorer, put the ball through the legs of an out-of-position goalkeeper to earn a 2-1 lead for Midland and his ninth goal of the season.

"Hugo Garcia and Brayden Wright were huge in front of goal for us," added Nakayama.

Halftime came with Midland leading by a score of 2-1. The half was a physical battle as the teams went into the locker room with a combined 21 fouls called between them. The break did not cease the fouling as six more were called in the first five minutes of the second half, five going against Midland.

The physical nature of the game did not hinder the Warriors' attack as Garcia was able to intercept a pass between two Hastings defenders that put him one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Garcia calmly powered the ball into the back of the net for his 10th goal of the year and doubled the Midland lead to 3-1 in the 58th minute.

Hastings sent everything forward trying to get back into the game and was able to outshoot Midland 15-5 in the final 31-plus minutes. The Warriors' defense was able to withstand just enough of the pressure, earning five blocks and four saves in that timeframe.

Nakayama praised the backline. "Our defense held up strong and Hugo Sjoeberg was amazing in goal tonight."

The Broncos were able to get one goal back in the 88th minute as Berger got on the end of a Juan Rubio pass in the box and fired the ball into the net. The comeback came too late for the Broncos as the clock ran out with the Warriors earning a well-deserved 3-2 victory.

The final tally for fouls in the physical matchup was 40 between the two teams with Midland earning 22 while Hastings earned 18. Hugo Garcia-Rosado Duran got two goals while Hugo Sjoeberg tallied seven saves in his 90 minutes of work.

Midland (6-5-4, 4-1-2 GPAC) will be back on the road again this Saturday as it travels to take on Dakota Wesleyan (5-6-2, 2-4-0 GPAC). in another conference game. Start time is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. in Mitchell, South Dakota on October 19.