By Daijah White / Sports Editor

Missouri Valley Men and Women’s soccer opened up Homecoming weekend with wins and Women’s Volleyball fell on the road 3-0 in Parkville, MO on Friday night. Valley Football came away with a 9-7 loss before Men’s Basketball opened up their season at home against University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy St. Louis on Saturday. 

In the women’s soccer match Friday afternoon the Vikings took on the Mount Mercy Mustangs. Ashley Arribas led the VIkings this game with her first hat trick of her career. Arribas opened up the match with the first goal five minutes into the game. Arribas’s second goal came in the 17th minute and her third in the 33rd minute. 

“I felt the game against Mt. Mercy was a much needed win for myself and the team to boost our confidence and get ready for what comes next,” Ashley Arribas said. “I felt like we had the energy and put in the work throughout the entire game and it resulted in our shutout win.”

Other goals in the women’s game came from Zoe Christofaro, Judit Ferre, and Madi Hudson. On Monday Arribas Earned The Heart of America Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week and Christofaro earned Defensive POTW. The Vikings beat Mount Mercy 7-0 and set the tone for Men’s Soccer 2-1 win over the Mustangs.

All goals came in the second half in the Men’s soccer match against Mount Mercy. The Vikings first goal came from Shosei Watanabe in the 63rd minute. Taiga Matsumoto scored the second goal for the Vikings in the 81st minute. The Mustangs scored off a penalty kick but Christobal Benitez and the Viking’s defense held them to just that one goal. 

“My players took an extra step in the game against Mount Mercy to secure a Homecoming victory,” Vladimir Simic said. “It was a hard fought match between two quality teams battling for 90 minutes.”

Valley Football took on Missouri Baptist on Saturday afternoon. The tailgate for the game started around 11am and kickoff was at 2pm. In the first quarter neither team scored any points. The second quarter opened up and the Vikings scored off an 11 yard pass from Tomele Staples to Eddie Strong, but the Spartans came back with two field goals and closed the gap 7-6. 

After receiving the ball in the second half it was 4th and 6 for the Vikings and Bruno Kincaid attempted a 57 yard field goal but it fell short. The Vikings and Spartans traded possession in the third quarter but no points were scored.

The fourth quarter rolled around and the Spartans took the lead with a field goal. The Vikings were down 9-7 when Jayson Williams brought some life to the Vikings with an interception. The Vikings moved their way down the field and it was 4th and goal. The Vikings set up in the wildcat formation in scoring position, but the Spartans defense came up with the stop to maintain the lead and eventually win the game 9-7. 

Valley Women’s Volleyball fell to Park in a road game on Saturday. The first started off with a point for the Vikings. The teams continued to trade points and the Pirates ended up taking the first set 30-28. The Vikings trailed early in the second and dropped this set 25-16. The third set was similar but the Vikings lost 25-15 and the Spartans took the match in just three sets. 

Men’s Basketball picked the weekend back up and started their season off with a win. The Vikings took on The University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy St.Louis in Burns Gymnasium Saturday night. 

“Although it was really early in the season to open up I felt our team was ready to prepare and play versus an outside opponent,” Jim Boone said. 

Antwon Ferrell dove on the floor, recovered a loose ball, and hit Ryan Lewis for a breakaway dunk to open up the game. The teams went back and forth trading points in the beginning of the first half. With five minutes left, the Vikings managed to gain a 10 point lead that led them to end the first half 39-28. 

The second half opened and the Vikings made their way to a 19 point lead with 15 minutes left to play. UHSP closed the gap, but the Vikings then led by 20 with 10 minutes left in the game. UHSP began to close the gap more and more but time ran out and the Vikings won 89-79. 

“I thought our crowd and the homecoming environment were awesome,” Boone said. “You could really feel the excitement and electricity in the building which definitely fired up our team.”

Men and Women’s Soccer are closing in on their post seasons. The Women are second in the Heart of America Athletic Conference and will host the Quarterfinal match of the tournament on November 5th while the men are seventh currently with one game that they must win to guarantee post season play. 

Women’s Volleyball closes out their regular season Friday night against Peru State in Burns Gymnasium at 7pm. Football is on the road this weekend against the third nationally ranked Benedictine Ravens. Men’s Basketball will take on Avila University Saturday at 4pm here in Marshall.