Soccer team falls just short in MCC tourney

They narrowly missed out on a regular season Midwest Collegiate Conference championship.

In the MCC conference tournament, the Viterbo men's soccer team came even closer to being able to call themselves champions.

After defeating William Penn in double overtime and knocking off rival Grand View by a 3-2 margin, the V-Hawks found themselves in the conference championship game with regular season winner Ashford.

Ashford, now 19-0-2 on the year, quickly fell behind the V-Hawks, as sophomore Charlie Grill notched a goal at the 29 minute mark. The Saints answered early on in the second half, only to see Viterbo retake the lead on a goal by Tony Madigan. Ashford recovered for a late goal to send the game into overtime.

After a scoreless overtime period, the game dragged well into a second overtime. With less than five minutes left before a shootout would have gone into effect, Ashford's Nick De Backer ended the game with a game-winning goal in the 108th minute.

Despite the 3-2 setback, Viterbo finishes the year with a record of 12-6-2.

The V-Hawks will look to be a force again next season—they lose just one senior, Tom Snow. All-Conference selections Mark Burton, James Lockley, Jamie Robertson, and Tony Madigan are all expected to return as Viterbo will likely again be in the mix for an MCC championship.