Early Run Sets Tone as Warriors Fall to Missouri Baptist on the Road
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Midland (2-9, 2-5) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
|
Missouri Baptist (5-6, 4-2) | 6 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 26 |
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Midland University traveled to St. Louis on Saturday evening to face Missouri Baptist in a Heart of America Athletic Conference matchup. The Spartans' offensive surge overpowered the Warriors, resulting in a 26-5 defeat.
Missouri Baptist struck first, opening the scoring at the 14:09 mark. Just a few minutes later, Joshua McClure answered for the Warriors, finding the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1 with 12:15 remaining in the first period. The Spartans quickly turned up the pressure, scoring four consecutive goals in a span of three minutes to take a 5-1 lead. They capped off the first period with another goal at the :14 mark, extending their lead to 6-1.
Missouri Baptist continued its offensive dominance in the second period, netting six unanswered goals to push the lead to 12-1 early in the frame. They added another at the 3:13 mark to further widen the margin. Carson Meier ended the Warriors' scoring drought with a goal at the :46 mark, but the Spartans responded with two more goals before halftime, taking a commanding 15-2 lead into the break.
Following intermission, Leland Thiel opened the third period with a goal at the 13:23 mark, assisted by Brian Cole, giving the Warriors a spark. Gavin Bartling added another goal at 11:35 in an effort to chip away at the deficit. However, Missouri Baptist closed out the third period with three more goals, stretching its lead to 18-4 heading into the final 15 minutes.
The Spartans opened the fourth period with a six-goal surge, extending their lead to 24-4. Cameron Teem ended the Warriors' scoring drought with a goal at the 2:14 mark, assisted by Thiel. Missouri Baptist added two more goals to close out the game with a dominant 26-5 victory.
Sean Erickson played in goal, collecting 15 saves on the evening. Missouri Baptist outshot Midland 51-26.
Midland (2-8, 2-4 HAAC) will return to the Show Me State on Wednesday, April 9, to face William Woods (1-7, 1-4 HAAC) in another conference game. Faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Fulton, Missouri.