CLEVELAND, Miss. — Mississippi Christian (3-5-4, 2-3-3) tied Delta State (2-9-3, 0-6-2) 0-0 on Wednesday. The Choctaws finished with a 21-9 shot advantage, including seven shots on goal, but could not convert. Delta St. generated eight of its nine shots in the second half, and MC held the match scoreless through nine opponent attacking actions from 75:50 to 86:58.
After
Hayden Mulrooney put a shot on frame at 2:04 and
Elliot Duffy saved Ajay Stewart's effort at 3:10, the Blue and Gold built early pressure with
Karim Gegg forcing a save,
Benjamin Smith and
Luke Nolan adding attempts, and three corner kicks by 6:43. Delta St. generated its own set-piece stretch with three corners from 11:36 to 12:29 and another at 20:22, but MC came through that sequence with the score still 0-0. The visitors pushed forward again after 29:49, as Mulrooney forced another Daniel Santema save,
Lian Feridani had a shot stopped by a team save and
David Bottner missed high/right during a run of chances. The Choctaws added six shots and two corners over the final six minutes, including Nolan's saved shot at 44:04 and one more attempt at 45:00, as the first half ended 0-0.
The second half opened with a choppy stretch of fouls and chances, with
Harry McLean sending a shot high at 46:46 before Duffy saved Callum Black's attempt at 48:46 to keep the match scoreless. MC created a look from Everett Biggers in the 55th minute, then earned a corner at 63:07 that led to
Hayden Mulrooney's saved shot less than a minute later. The visitors generated their most sustained attacking stretch from 69:29 to 74:23, getting shots from Feridani, Gegg and Brody Tanner before adding a corner. Delta St. answered with late pressure, including multiple corners, Danny Vargas hitting the woodwork at 83:49 and Duffy saving Cyrus Gulati at 86:58, while Tanner had the final MC shot in a second half that ended with the match still 0-0.
The Choctaws generated the bulk of the first-half chances but could not finish, putting up 14 shots and five corner kicks as the teams went into halftime scoreless. Early, Mulrooney and Gegg forced saves from Daniel Santema, and the Blue and Gold added three corner kicks and shots from Smith,
Luke Nolan and Gegg by the 10th minute. Delta St. answered with pressure of its own, including a shot saved by Duffy and four corner kicks between 11:36 and 20:22, but MC kept the match at 0-0. The Choctaws closed the half with another push, getting saved shots from Mulrooney and
Luke Nolan, a team save on
Lian Feridani's attempt, and late chances from Biggers, McLean and
David Bottner before the half ended 0-0.
MC kept Delta St. off the board through a late push, closing the second half of the 0-0 match without conceding. Earlier, the Blue and Gold put attempts high from McLean and Biggers, and Duffy saved Callum Black's shot in the 49th minute to keep the half scoreless. Mulrooney forced a save in the 64th minute, and the Choctaws added pressure from 69:29 to 74:23 with shots by Feridani, Gegg and Tanner plus a corner kick. Delta St. answered with several late chances, including Danny Vargas hitting the woodwork in the 84th minute and Duffy saving Cyrus Gulati's shot in the 87th, before the match ended 0-0.
Mulrooney finished with a team-high four shots and put three on goal. Duffy recorded three saves over 90 minutes and finished with a shutout.
Luke Nolan added three shots, including one on goal. Gegg also tallied three shots with one on frame.
MC Top Performers
Elliot Duffy
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- three saves
- shutout
- 90:00 in goal
Hayden Mulrooney
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- four shots
- three shots on goal
Luke Nolan
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- three shots
- one shot on goal
Karim Gegg
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- three shots
- one shot on goal
The Choctaws are 3-5-4 overall and 2-3-3 in conference play. Delta St. is 2-9-3 overall and 0-6-2 in conference play.
