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As the Midwest Collegiate Conference tournament comes to an end, the men’s soccer team looks to advance and members of the women’s team reflect on the their accomplishments throughout the season.

WOMEN

As the fifth seed entering the tournament, the women’s team first faced William Penn and pulled off a 4-0 shutout. Grand View outshot the Statesmen 17-7, and sophomore goalie Morgan Buzzell made four saves during the game. The Vikings advanced to the semifinals to play AIB on Nov. 8 at home. Previously in the season, the Vikings lost to AIB 3-2 after being unable to capitalize on several shots taken throughout the game. The playoff match was also decided by a single goal as the Vikings fell 0-1. The women ended the season with a record of 9-8-2.

Amanda Rush, senior defender, said she feels positive about the season, regardless of the tournament loss.

“The season was good,” Rush said. “We didn’t make it as far as we would have liked to, but we were still successful.”

Rush has one more year of eligibility and said she is excited for next season.

“I’m most excited for self-improvement and being on the field with my teammates again,” she said.

Megan Randolph, senior defender, contributed to the team’s success this year by being a leader both on and off the field.

“My senior season was very memorable,” Randolph said. “I made new relationships with incoming freshmen even though I would only play with them one year.”

Though the finish was not what Randolph hoped for, she said she is optimistic about the team’s future.

“The past four years have been an amazing experience,” she said. “I hope next year the underclassmen can take the lessons learned from this year and carry them into the 2015 season and become more successful.”

MEN
The men’s soccer team is not done yet and is working to continue through the conference tournament and into the national tournament.
“I know the team is fully confident we can get a win and retain the MCC title,” Ross Galbraith, senior defender, said.

The men’s team entered the MCC Tournament as the No. 1 seed and was nationally ranked at No. 7. The men finished the MCC regular season undefeated and have been ranked in the top 10 the entire season.

In the semifinal round of the MCC tournament, the men’s team defeated Clarke University, 3-1. They would be making their 10th national tournament appearance if they won conference. After the win over Clarke on Saturday, the men’s team moved to 15-2-1.

The seniors said they are proud of the season they have had.

“Senior season was brilliant so far,” Galbraith said. “We are hoping there is some way to go yet. I was delighted both my mom and dad came from Scotland on senior night, but as of right now, I’m just trying to make the most of it because it goes so quick.”

Aaron Scott, senior middle-forward, said the team is hoping to end the season with a national championship win.

“That’s been the main goal from the start of the season, and we still have work to do,” Scott said. “We want to win the conference tournament in our final year in this conference, and then just see what happens from there.”

According to Scott, his senior season has been great both personally and for the team, but they look to keep improving.

“We still haven’t accomplished what we hope to yet, and I look forward to the final four weeks of my senior season,” he said.