The Panthers (14-8-0) got on the scoreboard first with just over three minutes gone by in the match when Brian Limbaugh scored on a restart when his direct kick caromed of the Cougars’ defensive wall and into the net for an early 1-0 lead.

However, third-seeded MVNU (13-5-2) answered right back less than two minutes later when freshman midfielder Cody Snouffer (left) scored on a free kick of his own to knot the score at 1-1. The goal was Snouffer’s third of the season and his second in as many matches.

The score remained that way until the second half when in the 60th minute junior forward Adam Worrall took a cross from sophomore midfielder Scott Spangler and chested it down to the field and then into the back of the goal to give the Cougars a 2-1 lead. The goal was Worrall’s team-leading ninth of the season, while Spangler notched his fifth assist.

Just over seven minutes later, sophomore midfielder Chris Mast (right) gave MVNU some breathing room when he took a pass from senior forward Steve Lesmes and cracked a shot from the top of the box that bounced off the right post and into the goal to extend the Cougars’ lead to 3-1. The goal was the third of the year for Mast, and Lesmes recorded his team-leading 10th assist.

That would prove to be all the scoring in the match as MVNU sophomore goalkeeper Alex Stout posted one save in the victory. The Cougars had a commanding 20-4 lead in total shots, a 9-2 advantage in shots on goal, and a 7-2 edge in corner kicks. Joel Robinson stopped six shots for Greenville.

“We played a pretty solid match in the first round of the national tournament,” said MVNU head coach Paul Furey. “We allowed an early goal off a deflection, but it didn’t seem to rattle us at all as we battled right back and equalized a couple of minutes later. (Greenville) gave us more of a fight than maybe we anticipated, but early in the second half we took control of things and created a number of opportunities that we probably should have done better finishing. We got the job done, though, and we are looking forward to moving on to the next round.”

“It was great to have Adam back with us,” said Furey of Worrall, who has missed 10 matches this season due to injury. “He is such an impact player, and hopefully he continues to stay healthy. As he does, it is going to make us that much more competitive in this tournament.”

MVNU will now square off with second-seeded Palm Beach Atlantic (Fla.) University (12-4-0) in the semifinals on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. The Sailfish blanked Central Baptist (Ark.) College 1-0 on a penalty kick in the first round on Friday. The other semifinal match will feature top-seeded Indiana Wesleyan University (19-4-1) versus fourth-seeded The Master’s (Calif.) College (10-6-3) at 7:30 p.m.