MANKATO, MN – The BLC men's soccer team concluded their season today with a 3-1 loss to the College of St. Scholastica. The Saints finished the regular season as the second best team in the UMAC with a conference record of 9-2-1. The Vikings finish the UMAC season in seventh place with a record of 3-6-3.
The Vikings were the first team to strike today with a goal from
Jonathan Sehloff in the 28th minute of play. It was his fifth goal of the season. The Saints would respond, however, with three unanswered goals spread throughout the first and second half to win 3-1.
The Saints controlled most of the game with 19 shots and 11 on goal.
Josiah Hoisington and
Moritz Bruns split time in net for the Vikings. Hoisington made five saves and allowed one goal while Bruns made three saves and allowed two goals.
The Vikings showed significant improvement this season, getting off to a 5-2-1 start. With three games left in conference play, they put themselves in a position to make the UMAC tournament for the first time since the 2015 season. Two back-to-back losses to Crown College and Martin Luther, however, put them out of playoff contention.
Samuel Duran was the point leader this season for the Vikings with 13 which included six goals and one assist. Jonathan Sehloff finished second on the team with 11 points and
Nikita Pyatetskiy had nine points. The offensive attack looks good for the Vikings next year as all three of these players will be returning. The Vikings will be returning the majority of their team next season including other key players such as
Vincent Ayodi,
Edmond Jones,
Tiger Thomas,
Luis Gandara, and goalkeepers Moritz Bruns and Josiah Hoisington. The Vikings will graduate only three seniors this year including
Antonino Guerrero,
Meles Abraha, and
Uriah Ernst.
Long-time Bethany Head Coach Rob Pipal coached his final game for the Vikings today. Pipal began coaching the Vikings in 1998, leading the men's soccer program for 21 seasons. Pipal earned Region XIII coach of the year honors in 2002 when Bethany was still a member of the NJCAA and he earned UMAC coach of the year honors in 2010 after the Vikings finished second in the league with a record of 9-4-1. The last playoff appearance for the Vikings was in 2015 which included a first-round win over North Central.
Bethany's current women's soccer head coach, Derick Lyngholm, is set to take over the men's program for the 2019 season.
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MEDIA: If you need further information, please feel free to contact Dan DeWitt at 507-344-7856 or email
ddewitt@blc.edu.
