Channing Whitaker and Beau Woodcock
COM 360
Capie
Fall 2017 Semester
Bradley University has hosted a lot of Missouri Valley Conference tournaments in recent years, and with Creighton out of the conference, they have hosted more games than all other teams combined.
Shea Stadium has proven itself to be a remarkable playing surface with incredible ability to drain and stay put together in the face of rough conditions. Despite the rain and sheer number of games in the tournament, the field stayed in impressive shape all weekend. The superb playing field at Shea Stadium is a big part of why Bradley gets to host the tournament so often.
Associate Athletic Director for Communications Bobby Parker mentioned some of the work that goes into keeping the field in shape. “We walk the field after every half of the game and try and repair divots, ” he said.
The other key aspect behind putting together the tournament is the hard work of its staff, from the groundskeepers, to athletic department interns. “We’ve obviously proven to be a great venue to host the tournament, our grounds crew does a great job getting the field ready,” said intern Josh Hermann.
Bradley’s facilities are the cream of the crop in the Missouri Valley, and they look forward to more opportunities to host the tournament in the future.
In terms of how the Bradley Men’s Soccer team performed, the #3 seed Braves first played #6 seed Drake in the MVC Quarterfinals.
Behind three second-half goals, the Bradley soccer team was able to rally past Drake in their first come-from-behind victory of the season winning 3-1 to move on to the MVC Semifinals.
On the offensive side of the ball trailing 1-0, Younes Dayekh sent a cross toward the net as Roman Schindler was able to knock in the goal in the 48th minute for his team-leading seventh goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1.
Then shortly after in the 49th minute, senior Jacob Taylor on a sideline throw-in found classmate Clark Emerson who then tapped the ball toward junior defender Alex Ciaramitaro who knocked in the goal for his second of the season giving the Braves the 2-1 advantage as the lead held for the rest of the game.
While on the defensive side of the ball, Graduate transfer Brandon Barnes registered four saves in net to earn the victory only giving up that one goal in the first half to Drake.
Now in the MVC Semifinals, the Braves went up against the #2 seed Central Arkansas.
The Bradley soccer team fought second-seeded Central Arkansas to a 1-1 draw after 110 minutes of action (Regular Time and Overtime). To settle the tie, the game went to penalty kicks.
Each team successfully made their first seven penalty kicks. However, after Central Arkansas made their eighth attempt, Bradley saw its attempt go off the crossbar giving Central Arkansas the victory.
As the Bradley Men’s Soccer season came to a close, it also ended the careers of five seniors in Brandon Barnes, Falk Dennert, Clark Emerson, Buseese Lwanga, and Jacob Taylor. Head Coach Jim DeRose reflected on the outstanding impact these seniors have made at the Bradley community.
“I think the least successful thing they’ll ever do is win soccer games,” said DeRose. “The most successful things are going to come as husbands and fathers and what they do with their careers.”
In terms of who won the MVC tournament, Central Arkansas defeated the top seed Missouri State 1-0 in overtime securing the automatic bid into the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Tournament only to lose in the first round on November 16th.