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Celebrate
Cory Hall
0
Ripon RC (8-8-3, 4-2-2)
2
Winner Grinnell GC (10-7-1, 5-2-1)
Ripon RC
(8-8-3, 4-2-2)
0
Final
2
Grinnell GC
(10-7-1, 5-2-1)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Ripon RC 0 0 0
Grinnell GC 2 0 2

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | Ted Schultz

Grinnell men's soccer team shuts down Ripon to advance to MWC Tournament title game

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Grinnell College advanced to the title match of the Midwest Conference Men's Soccer Tournament Friday afternoon, and gained some revenge in the process.

The Pioneers shut out Ripon College 2-0 in the semifinals on Lake Forest College's field to move onto Saturday's championship contest, where they will meet Lake Forest at 2 p.m.

The trip to the title match is the first for Grinnell since 2017, and a win Saturday would send the Pioneers to the NCAA Division III National Tournament for the first time since 2009.

Grinnell's victory Friday avenged a loss to Ripon two weeks ago, where the Pioneers saw a 2-0 lead erode into a 3-2 Red Hawks' victory.

Following a lightning delay, Grinnell got on the board in the 17th minute with a beautiful goal by Ryota Matsunaga '24, the first of his career. Nate Girard '23 started things by setting up for a free kick from near the right sideline, 40 yards beyond the goal. He delivered up a perfect ball that Matsunaga met just to the left of the goal and headed into the lower right part of the net. It was Girard's first assist of the year.

Just 10 minutes later, the Pioneers doubled the size of their lead with Jaxon Willoughby's '26 fourth goal of the season. Following a throw-in from the right side, Matias Bambi '23 headed the ball to the left where Willoubhgy collected it on the move, beat his defender to the left of the goal and fired a shot into the lower left part of the net to make it 2-0. It was Bambi's first assist of the year.

Carter Benson '24 recorded the shutout as Grinnell's keeper, registering five saves. It was the fifth shutout of the season for Benson.

Each team managed five shots, with Noah Guyton '23 and Matsunaga taking two apiece and Willoughby getting one. Guyton's shot total gave him 79 for the season, tying him with Mark Rosenberg for the school record. Rosenberg accomplished the feat in 2010. Guyton is third for shots on goal in a season with 37 and ninth for shots on goal in a career with 52.

Grinnell, the second seed in the tourney, improved to 10-7-1 to get its second double-digit victory total in as many seasons. Third-seeded Ripon finished at 8-8-3.
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