Truman State men's soccer held top-seeded Lincoln scoreless through a 14-shot first half, then fell 2-0 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship Sunday in Springfield.
Nathan Quashie, of Lincoln, scored at 64:39, and Santiago Pineda, of Lincoln, added a second goal at 78:46. Seventh-seeded Truman State finished 7-7-5 after reaching the conference title match for the first time. Lincoln improved to 15-0-4, won its first GLVC Tournament championship, and earned the league's automatic NCAA Division II Tournament berth.
Owen Robben, of Truman State, made three saves before halftime, stopping shots from Junior Grizzelle, of Lincoln, Alysson Portela Barboza, of Lincoln, and Makwe Nkoana, of Lincoln. The Bulldogs blocked five more attempts during the half.
Jacob Panagos, of Truman State, had Truman State's only first-half shot, which went wide left at 24:32. The Bulldogs had two corner kicks less than a minute apart but could not turn either into a goal.
Truman State took six shots after the break. Drake Thompson, of Truman State, sent an attempt wide at 47:31, and Cody Bland, of Truman State, had a shot blocked before Lincoln scored.
Pineda assisted on Quashie's opener, the third goal of the season for Quashie. Robben stopped another Nkoana shot at 76:55 to keep it 1-0. Less than two minutes later, Pedro Gomes, of Lincoln, set up Pineda for the second goal.
The Bulldogs pushed back with three corner kicks in 44 seconds. Russell Woods, of Truman State, and Panagos had shots blocked, and Tyler Bouckaert, of Truman State, sent an attempt wide at 81:15.
Truman State never put a shot on goal. Lincoln finished with a 26-7 advantage in attempts, and Robben made five saves. Lincoln goalkeeper Felipe Mattos, of Lincoln, needed none.
Panagos, Brady Lombardo, of Truman State, and Zoran Sabbert, of Truman State, were named to the GLVC All-Tournament Team. The Bulldogs reached Sunday after advancing past second-seeded Maryville on penalty kicks and beating sixth-seeded Missouri-St. Louis 2-1 in the semifinals.
Final tally: Lincoln 2, Truman State 0.