FULTON, MO. – [BOX SCORE] No. 3 seed Missouri Baptist men's soccer (13-4-3) overcame a halftime deficit on Tuesday night to defeat No. 2 seed William Woods (13-4-3) 2-1 in the American Midwest Conference semifinals. The victory earned the Spartans a trip to their first AMC Championship game in 12 years.
 
For the second consecutive season, MBU found itself behind the eight ball at halftime against William Woods. A year ago, in the quarterfinal round, the Spartans trailed the heavily favored Owls 3-0 after 45 minutes. On that day, it took four second half goals to pull off the miracle 4-3 comeback (now referred to as the "Fairytale in Fulton").
 
After a closely contested first 40 minutes, William Woods nabbed the first goal of the game with less than a minute to go in the first half to take a 1-0 advantage into the break. While the deficit this time around wasn't quite three goals, the task facing Missouri Baptist in the second half on Tuesday night was every bit as daunting.
 
Considering the Owls hadn't lost a game all the season in which they scored first, the odds were certainly stacked against the Spartans. Out of the restart, William Woods continued to attack the MBU end of the field. But in the 60^th minute, the game was flipped on its head. MBU's Nick Johnson seized an opportunity on the counterattack. Johnson found teammate Chase Droege with a perfect cross and Droege made no mistake on the finish. The sophomore's third goal of the year tied the game at one and set the stage for a wild last 30 minutes.
 
A little under 10 minutes after Droege equalized, senior Victor Rada gave Missouri Baptist the lead. Rada spotted William Woods' goalkeeper Iker Gonzalez wandering off his line and decided to try his luck from nearly midfield. By the time Gonzalez realized he was out of position, it was too late. The ball bounced over the line and the visiting Spartans were suddenly ahead by a goal with 18 minutes left.
 
The Owls peppered the MBU penalty area in the final quarter of an hour but the Spartan defense was up to the task. Freshman defensive midfielder Easton Jaromin earned 'Man of the Match' honors while goalkeeper Davide Bucarelli finished the night with a season-high nine saves to earn his 13^th win.
 
"The boys responded AGAIN in the second half," commented MBU Head Coach Jake Alvernia. "Nick's [Johnson] ball in was fantastic and Chase [Droege] finished it cool as a cucumber. And what a heads up goal from Vic [Rada]. He spotted the GK out and popped it in from 50 yards out."
 
Alvernia also couldn't say enough about the freshman, Jaromin.
 
"Easton was absolutely brilliant in the midfield tonight," Alvernia said. "Defending and attacking- he was dominant on both sides."
 
Missouri Baptist will now host the AMC Championship game at Spartan Field on Friday at 1 pm. Their opponent will be No. 4 seed Lyon College (11-7-0) after the Scots pulled off a shock of their own over No. 1 seed Columbia 1-0. The Scots are currently riding a five-game winning streak and haven't allowed a goal yet in the AMC Tournament.
 
The winner of Friday's match will earn a bid to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round on November 17. Friday's match can be seen live on the AMC Sports Network with pregame beginning at 12:45 pm.