ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – Lebogang Moloto touched a free kick from just outside the center of the box over to Chris Williams who rocketed a shot on the restart into the back of the net to help lift No. 2 seed Lindsey Wilson College over No. 15 seed Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) University 2-0 on Monday in the second round of the NAIA Championship at the Orange Beach Sportsplex.
The Blue Raiders improve to 9-4-0 in second-round play and advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since the championship-winning 2009 season.
It was after that title run that Williams was named the championship's most valuable player and against the Trojans he looked every bit the part in 2011.
Moloto was on a run down the center of the field towards the Hannibal-LaGrange (16-5-1) goal where he was cut off by Juan Rodriguez who received a yellow card after hard contact.
On the ensuing free kick Moloto touched the ball about a foot to his right in step with Williams who instantly fired his shot at the Trojan goal. Goalkeeper Logan Miller got his fingers on the ball, but it had too much velocity to stop as it continued into the back of the net for the game-winning score in the 30th minute.
There were plenty of chances for both teams the rest of the way as Lindsey Wilson finished with a 21-10 advantage in shots, including an 11-4 lead in shots on goal.
Alejandro Porras nearly finished off an equalizer for the Trojans in the 77th minute as his shot just missed off the post.
Then in the 88th minute senior Moses Aduny added a goal for Lindsey Wilson as he headed in a rebound off of sophomore Albert Edwards' missed shot to put the game away.
Lindsey Wilson (20-0-0) freshman keeper Yuta Nomura received the national-championship shutout, making four saves, while Miller allowed both goals for Hannibal-LaGrange and finished with nine saves.
With the win the Blue Raiders become the all-time leader in wins at the NAIA Championship with 42. Lindsey Wilson is 42-10-4 in championship play, while former NAIA member Quincy (Ill.) University is now second on the list with 41 wins.
Lindsey Wilson advances to the quarterfinals where it will meet the winner between No. 7 seed Bethel (Tenn.) University and 10th seeded Southern Polytechnic State (Ga.) University who play at 2:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday.
The Blue Raiders next game is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Orange Beach Sportsplex.
Photos
NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship
