SIOUX CITY, IOWA – For 20 minutes Wednesday, Oct. 24, Elwood Olsen Stadium had some Morningside College Mustang magic going on.

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – For 20 minutes Wednesday, Oct. 24, Elwood Olsen Stadium had some Morningside College Mustang magic going on.

Head coach Tom Maxon’s Mustangs, firm in the belief of taking aim at perennial Great Plains Athletic Conference power and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ number four ranked Hastings College, provided intense moments over the span. The first of two examples occurred when freshman forward Okan Goelge (Bergisch Gladbach, Germany) beat Bronco net minder Kieran Harrison to the ball in front of the keepers’ box and flicked what looked like a sure opening goal for either side. However, HC’s Francisco Arevalo came out what looked like nowhere and headed the ball over the net for a defensive save. The other came from sophomore forward Austin Lingle (Sioux City, Iowa) who hit a bullet towards the visiting frame that curved just left. 

As the 17-time league champions sidestepped those trouble spots, their offense got into gear with a flurry of four scores in just over 15 minutes to hold a 4-0 advantage at the break. Maxon’s bunch pressed hard on offense in the second stanza with senior forward Murat Turan (Bergish Gladbach, Germany) tallying a goal, and the Maroon and White having over opportunities to trim down the deficit. In the end, it was an 18thconference championship for Hastings with a 4-1 final.

Senior goalkeeper Tim Erdmann (Hamburg, Germany) got some audible oos and ahhs from the crowd with seven remarkable saves in the midst of a 23-10 visiting shots advantage. Goelge, Lingle, Turan and sophomore midfielder Julius Fassbinder (Freiburg, Germany) put two shots apiece on the scoresheet.

Morningside College (10-5-1 overall, 8-2 GPAC) closes out its regular season with a visit to Dakota Wesleyan University Saturday, Oct. 27. Kickoff is 8 p.m.