Warriors Fall in Semifinals to (RV) Columbia

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – After a successful regular season, Midland University earned the third seed in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Tournament. As the three-seed, they faced off against second-seeded Columbia College, the same team they began their season against nearly two months prior. That game saw the Cougars defeat the Warriors, 14-4. Thursday's result was much closer with Midland falling 15-11 in a highly-competitive contest.

Dominic Jochim got things started with the game's first goal just past the six-minute mark of the first quarter. Sayer Kuenzi assisted on the goal, giving the Warriors the early advantage. Columbia responded with four consecutive goals and held a 4-1 lead after the first.

Kuenzi sparked a comeback by Midland in the second quarter. He scored back-to-back goals after a defensive start to the quarter. Joshua Pereira and Carson Meier both aided in the Warriors' rally that brought them within a goal, 6-5, at the intermission.

Jochim and Pereira helped Midland pull even in the first six minutes of the third. After tying the score at 7-7 with 8:48 to go in the quarter, Columbia came back with a quick response. They scored less than a minute after winning the ensuing face-off. That started another streak of four-straight goals and they held an 11-7 lead.

Midland wasn't able to recover this time around but battled throughout the final quarter. Each team found the back of the net four times in the final 15 minutes. For the Warriors, Meier bookended goals by Nick Luedke and Kuenzi. The Cougars advance to the KCAC Championship with a 15-11 win.

"At halftime, we said it was time to leave everything we had on the field and did," said head coach Alex Myhre. "This team has gone through major ups and downs this year but we came together as one and fought, battled, and left blood, sweat, and tears on the turf."

"I am thankful to coach this group of young men," added Coach Myhre. "I would like to thank Coach Grewcock and Coach Rahe for their dedication to this team. We've grown immensely this season and I'm looking forward to the future of the program."

Midland's season comes to a close with a 4-9 record in Coach Myhre's first season. The year saw exponential growth as the team fought through adversity throughout the season's entirety.