GRINNELL, Iowa – Grinnell College's men's soccer team earned a spot in the Midwest Conference Tournament with a 2-0 blanking of Ripon College on a gray Saturday afternoon.
 
The Pioneers' win at Springer Field propelled them to 5-3 in the MWC and 7-8-1 overall. Their win, and results of other league matches Saturday, pushed Grinnell into the tournament. Ripon dipped to 0-7-1 in the league and 2-13-2 overall.

Grinnell has made the MWC Tournament eight of the past 12 seasons.
 
It was a scoreless contest at halftime before the Pioneers caught fire, starting with a goal by Noah Fluharty '19 in the 53rd minute. On the play, Artis Curiskis '18 crossed the ball in front of the net, and Fluharty tapped it into the lower section of the goal for his second score of the year. The assist was the team-high fifth for Curiskis and 20th of his career, which is tied for second-best in program history.
 
Antonio DiMarco '18 then got into the scoring act in the 62nd minute with his team-high 12th goal of the year on a penalty kick after Evan Sorenson '19 was fouled in the box. It marked the 27th goal of DiMarco's career, which ranks seventh in program history.
 
Grinnell keepers Jared Cloutier '20 and Michael Spicer '21 combined on the shutout at keeper, with Cloutier making two saves.
 
The Pioneers fired off 30 shots compared to four for the Red Hawks. Curiskis had six shots, DiMarco five, Fluharty four and three each by Jasper Yang '21 and Matt Record '20.
 
Grinnell finishes the regular season next Saturday with a home contest against Monmouth College. The Senior Day affair is slated for 2:30 p.m.