Rajoy Lifts No. 16 Men’s Soccer Past Missouri Baptist

Columbia, Mo. – Erik Rajoy scored a pair of goals in a three-minute span in the second half to lead the second-seeded and No. 16-ranked Columbia College men’s soccer team to a 2-1 win over third-seed Missouri Baptist University in the semifinals of the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament Tuesday at R. Marvin Owens Field.
 
The Cougars advance to the AMC Championship game and will take on No. 12-ranked and top-seed Williams Baptist University on Friday at 1 p.m. in Walnut Ridge, Ark. Williams Baptist defeated No. 4 seed Harris-Stowe University 5-2 in overtime in the first semifinal.
 
Columbia won its ninth-straight game to improve to 13-3-3, while Missouri Baptist had its season come to an end with a 12-6 record. The Cougars have won 13 or more games in eight-straight seasons under head coach John Klein.
 
Both teams had scoring chances early in the first half, and Guy Baskerville nearly gave the Cougars the lead in the 27th minute after his header just went wide of the goal. 
 
In the 34th minute, Columbia goalkeeper Liam Gibbs sent a long punt over the Missouri Baptist defense which resulted in a break away but Jake Totty’s shot went wide right.
 
The Cougars had a 9-5 advantage in shots in the first half and Gibbs made three saves.
 
Columbia had three shots stopped by Missouri Baptist goalkeeper Callum McKinaly in a span of 38 seconds, including a pair of back-to-back shots at 56:11. During the second scrum, a Cougar was taken down in the box to set up a penalty kick by Rajoy.
 
Just three minutes later, Ethan Blake played a ball to the top of the box that Rajoy finished to make it 2-0. Rajoy leads the team with nine goals, and upped his career total to 14.
 
Missouri Baptist cut the lead in the half after Marko Dordevic converted on a penalty kick in the 86th minute. The goal for Dordevic was his team-leading 13th of the season.
 
The Cougars outshot the Spartans 20-16 and had a 5-4 advantage in corner kicks. Gibbs tied his career-high with six saves. 
 
Columbia leads the all-time series with Missouri Baptist 37-1-3.