Warriors Earn Draw to Open Season

FREMONT, Neb. – Midland University kicked off its 2024 season at home against Dordt University on Wednesday evening. The last encounter between these two teams was in the championship game of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Tournament last season, where the Warriors edged out the Defenders with a thrilling 4-3 victory in overtime. In the rematch, both teams were locked in a scoreless first half and then found the back of the net twice as they played to a 2-2 draw to open GPAC play.

Both the Defenders and the Warriors took some time to find their rhythm in the first half, engaging in a back-and-forth battle. Midland held a slim margin in shots, 6-5, and maintained a 4-0 advantage on frame through the first 45 minutes of action.

After the break, Dordt quickly intensified its offensive pressure, netting a goal in the 47th minute, followed by another score just two minutes later in the 49th. The Warriors capitalized with a free kick in the 62nd minute as Addison Castellanos seized the opportunity, slipping the ball past the Defenders' keeper to put the Warriors on the board.

Midland added the equalizer soon after as Jaya Soor delivered from long-range, sneaking the ball into the bottom left corner, leveling the game at 2-2. The intensity ramped up as both teams continued to press, exchanging near misses, with keepers making critical saves. Neither team was able to net the game-winner and they played to a 2-2 draw.

Defensively, Kyla Pires played the full 90 minutes in goal picking up 3 saves on the night. Midland limited Dordt to just two corner kicks while seizing five set-piece chances of its own. The Warriors outshot the Defenders, 14-11, for the game.

"I'm extremely proud of the team for persevering and battling back after going down two early in the second half. We will make some adjustments and shift our focus to Saturday," commented head coach Keri Heedum

Midland (0-0-1, 0-0-1 GPAC) will head to Orange City, Iowa to take on Northwestern (1-5-0, 1-0-0 GPAC) this weekend. The conference match will take place on Saturday, September 21 at 5:00 p.m. at the NWC Soccer Complex.