In the first half, the two teams exchanged five shots apiece with Cedarville (1-5-1, 0-2-1 AMC) managing to put two on goal. The Yellow Jackets continued that trend in the second half as they out-shot the host Cougars (4-2-1, 1-0-1 AMC) 6-3 overall with two more shots on goal.

However, in overtime, MVNU finally seemed to get its offense clicking. Junior defender Brady Swanson (left) headed a shot off a free kick in the 93rd minute that Cedarville goalie Kevin Bender was just able to knock over the crossbar to keep the match scoreless.

That would prove to be the Cougars’ best scoring opportunity as Swanson had one other header sail over the crossbar. Overall, MVNU out-shot the Yellow Jackets 8-2 in the two overtime periods, but the Cougars were unable to find the back of the net as they were shutout for the first time this season. It also ended the seven-match scoring streak dating back to last year for senior forward Adam Worrall, who had scored in every match for MVNU this season until Tuesday.

Junior goalkeeper Alex Stout posted four saves for the Cougars in registering his fourth shutout of the year and the 16th of his career as he closes in on the program’s all-time mark of 20 shutouts set by former MVNU standout Trevor Knowles. Bender finished with three saves for Cedarville.

“We did not play as well as we have the past few matches,” said MVNU coach Paul Furey. “(Cedarville) played very hard, and we just did not have the touch on the ball that we needed to today. We set several goals for our season and a win today would have gone a long way in helping us to reach them. Now, we will have to pick up a win that others did not see us getting.”

The Cougars will have one such opportunity on Saturday when MVNU will host the University of Rio Grande in a conference match at 1:00 p.m. The Redmen, who are a perennial power not only in the AMC but also nationally, moved up to No. 2 in the latest NAIA poll that came out on Tuesday afternoon. Rio Grande leads the all-time series 18-5-3.

“We’ll have a great opportunity on Saturday to see how we match up against one of the top teams in the country,” said Furey. “I know that the team is hungry to start turning this series around and a good showing in this match will be a big step in the right direction.”