Box Score
Box score in PDF

OLATHE, Kan. – The No. 14-ranked Northeastern State men's soccer team defeated Truman State 2-0 in the semifinals of the 2012 MIAA Men's Soccer Championship Thursday night at Olathe District Activities Center.
 
The second-seeded RiverHawks (12-3-3, 7-1-2 MIAA) outshot the third-seeded Bulldogs (10-6-1, 7-2-1) by a 22-11 margin and picked up goals from sophomore midfielder Jordan Schmoker and sophomore forward Juan Peralta.
 
“I'm just excited for our guys, and I'm very happy with how they played,” NSU Head Coach Rob Czlonka said. “Not everybody had a great game, but we had a good game as a team. For a young team to be able to get to a conference final, it's amazing.”
 
The two teams had ample opportunity to find the back of the net in the first half, but the score remained 0-0 heading into intermission.
 
The closest chance came in the half's final minute when TSU's Charlie Backus sent a breakaway shot just over the crossbar.
 
NSU took the lead when Schmoker scored his first goal as a member of the RiverHawks in the 64th minute. Peralta took possession of the ball on the left wing and sent a cross into the box to a wide-open Schmoker. He blasted a shot low-left post and sent the green and white ahead.
 
“That guy has been working tirelessly. He has been shooting before practice and after practice,” Czlonka said. “Jordan has been putting in the work, and he's just been snake-bitten all year. For him to get that goal today was just a great thing for him as a person. It was obviously good for us, but I'm just so happy he was able to score.”
 
Peralta added an unassisted counter goal in the 88th minute, his 13th tally of the season.
 
Senior goalkeeper Jordan Ladbrooke (9-3-2) earned his sixth shutout of the season after making two clutch saves for NSU. Drew Garrone (6-4-0) took the loss for the Bulldogs after saving seven shots and allowing both goals.
 
The RiverHawks will face either top seed Lindenwood (13-2-3, 8-0-2) or No. 4 Fort Hays State (11-4-2, 7-2-1) in the inaugural championship match at 11 a.m. Nov. 3.
 
“Tonight we are just going to take care of our bodies and work out the bumps and bruises,” Czlonka said. “We need to stay loose and have a good training session tomorrow. We need to get focused when we find out who we're playing, and we are just going to get ready for our match on Saturday.”
 
Scoring Summary
TSU                     0            0            –             0
NSU                     0            2            –             2
 
Individual Scoring
Jordan Schmoker (NSU) at 63:58 (Juan Peralta)
Juan Peralta (NSU) at 87:08 (unassisted)
 
Goalkeeper Saves
Drew Garrone (TSU) – 7
Jordan Ladbrooke (NSU) – 2
 
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