Wildcats Fall to Top-Seed Missouri Valley, 3-1 in Heart Quarterfinals

MARSHALL, Mo. – After taking a 1-0 lead into halftime, No. 8 Baker men's soccer fell to top-seed Missouri Valley by a score of 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Heart of America Conference Tournament on Friday night in Marshall, Mo.

After the match went scoreless for most of the first half, Mason Anderson scored in the 40th minute to put the Wildcats on top 1-0 at halftime before the Vikings came back with a three-goal performance in the second half to earn the conference tournament win.

The Vikings launched 10 shots in the second half to carry a 13-6 advantage in the match with the Wildcats tallying three shots in each half. MVC also had five corner kicks in the second half, while BU had three corners for the whole match.

Anderson and Falco Dijkhuis each had two shots in the match, while Sahal Arwo had a header land on target off a corner in the second half.

It was a setup by freshman Damian Bair that led to Anderson's game-opening goal with Anderson recording his second goal of the season to send Baker into the break with a 1-0 lead.

After the restart, the Vikings quickly equalized on a corner kick in the 50th minute to draw the match level at 1-1 just five minutes into the second half of play.

Looking to break the tie, BU had a couple shots come through with Anderson having a shot soar high on him and then Arwo's header in the 73rd.

In the 79th minute, the Vikings took the lead after their forward Sam Green followed up an initial shot that BU keeper Michael Stӧger saved with another attempt that found the back of the net to give MVC a 2-1 lead.

The hosts added an insurance goal in the final few minutes of play with Green playing a ball to Yoshiki Igarashi, who scored to cap the match at 3-1 in favor of the Vikings.

The Wildcats close out a 2023 season that saw them finish with a 9-7-3 record after starting the year going unbeaten through their first six matches. With nine victories, Baker matched its most wins in a season since 2019.

Baker boasted the Heart's Most Valuable Player in Gyorgy Kamaras, who joined Dijkhuis as BU's all-conference selections with Kamaras being named to the first team for the third straight year and Dijkhuis earning back-to-back third-team honors.

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