In the first half, the visiting Panthers (15-1-0, 4-1-0 AMC South), who are ranked fifth in the latest NAIA poll that came out on Wednesday afternoon, held a slim 8-6 advantage in shots, but the match remained scoreless as it went to the half after the first 45 minutes of action.

Midway through the second half, Ohio Dominican was awarded a penalty kick when one of the Panther forwards and one of the MVNU defenders both went up for a header in the box. Ryan Nelson converted the opportunity with a shot into the back of the net that eluded sophomore goalie Alex Stout, who tried to make a diving save as Ohio Dominican took a 1-0 lead in the 68th minute.

The Cougars (10-5-2, 1-3-1 AMC South) kept pushing forward to try to equalize, but in the 86th minute Eddie Hertsenburg headed in a cross from Scott Shrewsbury to put the Panthers in front 2-0. That would prove to be the final score.

“I really thought that we played a very strong game today against a quality program,” said MVNU head coach Paul Furey. “It is unfortunate that the game was decided by a very questionable penalty kick call. Matt (Wilging) challenged hard for a header in the box and to have a foul called was very disheartening to a group of guys that gave so much effort. The other goal was a result of us pushing forward and changing our formation to try to equalize late. Our guys really battled, created chances, and played great defense. The fact that we did not allow a corner kick indicates how solid we were for a good part of the match.”

“Alex played a very strong match in goal and came up big a number of times for us,” added Furey. “I also thought that our back line was tough again and our midfield was solid. I thought that Cody (Snouffer) played with a lot of energy and created some things for us on the left flank and in the back.”

Stout posted six saves for MVNU as he tried to keep the Cougars in the match. Meanwhile, Eric Pfeifer stopped five shots as Ohio Dominican posted its 14th shutout of the season. The Panthers have allowed just two goals in 16 matches this year. Ohio Dominican had a 14-13 edge in total shots and an 8-5 advantage in shots on goal. MVNU led in corner kicks 3-0.

“We had some great chances to score today,” said Furey. “Steve (Lesmes) got behind the defense twice early on and Scott (Forster) had a point-blank header late in the match that we could have capitalized on. We were definitely there with our chances.”

“I’m sure it was also bittersweet for our seniors who played tough but came up a bit short against the fifth-ranked team in the country,” said Furey of his six seniors who were playing the final regular-season home match of their careers. “I’m proud of all of our seniors and I’m glad that we were able to recognize them today.”

With the loss, the Cougars were eliminated from a shot at making the AMC Tournament. MVNU will close out the regular season on Saturday at Walsh University with another AMC South Division match that will start at 7:00 p.m.