Campbellsville, KY – With the Mid-South Conference Championships on the line, Cumberlands commanded Lindsey Wilson for a 3-0 victory. This marks the first time since 2009 that UC will advance to the title game. The win also gives the Patriots an automatic berth to the NAIA Tournament, making it back-to-back seasons UC has qualified.

Goals came from three different players, scored by Nemanja Jovanovic for his second of the year and then Rodrigo Riveros and Sergio Infantes Castell each netted a goal,  both have scored in back-to-back games.

The Patriots led the Blue Raiders in every statistical category including shots and corner kicks. UC fired 15 shots with six on frame compared to LWC with seven shots and just one on net.

The only shot on goal for Lindsey Wilson came 23 minutes into the contest. The Blue Raiders were on the attack after causing the Patriots to turn the ball over. LWC sprinted down the field setting up a shot just outside the 18-yard box on the left side of the pitch. Their attacker fired a shot that caused Akililu Zambataro to have to leap into the air for the save.

After that shot, it was all Cumberalnds the rest of the game. Spending most of the first half on their attacking side, UC had five corner kicks in the first 45 minutes. They would eventually break the stalemate in the 44th minute, right before half time. Joel Drewery sent a ball ahead trying to find Gabriel Figurski on the right flank. A Blue Raider defender intercepted the ball and headed it back towards the middle of the field. Nemanja Jovanovic was wide open and took one touch to settle the ball before firing a soaring shot from his left foot into the top of the net, putting UC up 1-0.
 
The momentum from the goal carried over into the second half. Just six minutes in, Cumberlands possessed the ball well, keeping Lindsey Wilson off balance and out of rhythm. A one-two combination play from Alejandro Gonzalez and Tommaso Ogliari gave Ogliari the ball racing down the left side of the pitch. He took the ball into the box, baiting a LWC defender to come towards him, leaving Riveros open in the middle of the field. Ogliari passed the ball to Riveros who slotted the ball into the net off his left foot for the 2-0 lead.

Even with the 2-0 advantage the UC attack did not let up, getting a goal less than two minutes later. The Patriots had another corner kick, one of four in the second half. The ball was sent into the box and resulted in the Blue Raiders bringing Figurski to the ground, awarding the Patriots a penalty kick. Infantes Castell was the man who stepped up to take the penalty. He was composed, placing the ball into the left side of the goal, giving him penalty kick goals in back-to-back matches.

Cumberlands made sure Lindsey Wilson could not get back into the match, blanking them in the 90-minute contest. This marks just the second time the Blue Raiders have been shutout this season, the other time was also against Cumberlands in a 0-0 tie back in February.

UC's defeat over LWC marks the first time the Blue Raiders will not be in the MSC Championship game since 2015. On the other side this is the first time Cumberlands has beaten Lindsey Wilson since 2000 and is heading to the conference title match for the first time since 2009.

UC did win the MSC Tournament once in their history, back in 1996. Cumberlands will face Bethel in the championship game. The match will take place on Friday, April 16 at 1 PM in Campbellsville, KY. Live stats for the game can be found here and live video can be found here.

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