GLVC Playoffs: Panthers Will Host Final 4 Next Week, Miners Eliminated

#1 Drury Panthers – 1 (2nd OT)
#8 Missouri-St. Louis – 1
Junior Micah Whorton banged home the game-winner with 4:17 left in the second sudden death overtime period, lifting top-seeded Drury to a 1-0 victory over eighth seed Missouri-St. Louis in the opener of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament Sunday at Harrison Stadium.

Whorton followed up a pass from junior Peter Higgins, who picked up the assist, to push the Panthers (18-1-0) into next weekend’s GLVC Tourney semifinals, which they will host at Harrison on Friday night. The Panthers will host No. 5 seed Bellarmine at 7:30 p.m.,- Drury beat the Knights 2-1 in overtime last month in Louisville – with No. 3 seed Lewis and No. 2 seed Northern Kentucky meeting at 5 p.m. in the opener. Drury will also host the GLVC Tournament championship match on Sunday at noon at Harrison.

UMSL comes into the match with a mark of 9-6-2, but is coming off its most impressive win of the season – a 2-1 decision at second-seeded Northern Kentucky on Sunday. The Tritons have won five of their last six matches.

Drury defeated UMSL 3-0 at Harrison on Oct. 2 in a match that was locked in a scoreless tie at halftime. The Panthers scored two goals in a three-minute span about 12 minutes into the second half, as the 1-2 punch of senior Steve Wilczewski and junior Micah Whorton came up with the scores to lead DU to the win.

UMSL, which has outscored its opponents 27-23 on the season, is led by the six goals and three assists of Jack McKenna. Johnny O’Mara has five goals and two assists for the Tritons of ninth-year coach Dan King, who are in the GLVC Tournament field for the first time since 2006.

Drury advanced to the GLVC Tournament semifinals last season in its first appearance, where the Panthers fell to eventual champion Rockhurst in a shootout thriller in Kansas City, as the Hawks outlasted DU 5-4 in seven rounds of penalty kicks.

#5 Bellarmine Knights – 4
#4 UW-Parkside Rangers – 0

#6 Quincy Hawks – 0
#3 Lewis Flyers – 1

#7 Missouri S&T Miners – 2
#2 Northern Kentucky Norse – 3
The Norse beat the Miners 3-1 at home on October and eliminated S&T on a late goal in the opening round of last year’s conference tournament.