Courtesy Schreiner University Sports Information Department

An exciting first day of the ASC Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament saw close matches between Mississippi College and Texas-Dallas in the morning, and Hardin-Simmons and Mary Hardin-Baylor in the afternoon. Friday's action set the field for Saturday's semi-final matchups, with Mississippi and Hardin-Simmons advancing.

Mississippi College 1, Texas-Dallas 1 (MC wins on penalty kicks, 4-2)
The morning game started slowly, until Texas- Dallas’ Cory Roth found the back of the net in the 32nd minute. He was assisted by Kevin White and Jason Lynn. The teams went into halftime with the score at 1-0. The second half saw the two teams play a fast-paced, up and down game. MC's Stephen Hudgens scored the tying goal in the 52nd minute, off of a free kick by Jesse Purvis. Despite several opportunities on both sides, the teams ended regulation with the score knotted at 1-1. Two overtime periods failed to produce a winner, so the teams moved on to a shootout. Both goalies acquitted themselves well, with Mississippi College'sTony Yancey making two stops and UTD's Keven Atnip making one. That extra save proved to be the difference, though, and MC won the shootout 4-2.

Hardin-Simmons 2, Mary Hardin-Baylor 1
The second game of the day got off to a fast start as Hardin-Simmons scored in the eighth minute of play. David Salas put the ball past the UMHB’s Jude Austin off of an assist by Nick Sager. Hardin-Simmons continued to control the tempo for the rest of the first half, outshooting UMHB 10-3 in the period. The Cowboys struck again in the 69th minute as Jorge Vega scored an unassisted goal. The Crusaders fought back, though. Mickey Kerr scored for UMHB in the seventy eighth minute off of Matt Dolline’s corner kick. The Crusaders pushed hard for the remainder of the half, but were unable to tie the game up. Hardin-Simmons took the game with the final score of 2-1.

Saturday's 11:00 am game pits Mississippi College against tournament host and No. 1 seed Schreiner. The Mountaineers beat the Choctaws in the last game of the regular season to help solidify their place as the tournament’s top seed. In the afternoon game, Hardin-Simmons will take on the No. 2 seed Eagles of Ozarks. The two teams last played on October 7 in Abilene, with Ozarks coming away with a 4-0 victory. Start time for the afternoon game is 2:00 pm.