Third-Quarter Surge Pushes Koalas Past Warriors

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Midland University continued its season-opening weekend with another neutral-site game in St. Louis, this time against Columbia College (S.C.). The Warriors took a halftime lead, but a third-quarter surge by the Koalas proved too much to overcome as Midland fell, 8-6.

Midland came out firing as Gavin Bartling found the back of the net for an unassisted goal just 11 seconds into the contest. Columbia responded midway through the quarter with a man-up goal from Noah Norwood after Garrett Jenkings was assessed a slashing penalty.

The back-and-forth continued late in the period. Columbia took its first lead at the 1:20 mark, but Bartling answered just six seconds later to tie the game at 2-2. Lawson Kopecky then gave the Warriors a 3-2 advantage with 37 seconds left in the quarter as Midland outshot Columbia 11-7 in the opening frame.

Columbia evened the score at 3-3 midway through the second quarter on Norwood's second goal of the day, assisted by Kai Correia. The Warriors regained momentum late when Kellan Powers scored off an assist from Leland Thiel with just 16 seconds remaining in the half. Despite being outshot 15-4 in the quarter, Midland carried a 4-3 lead into the locker room.

The third quarter proved decisive as Columbia erupted for three goals in a three-minute span midway through the period to swing the momentum. Norwood completed his hat trick at the 7:40 mark, and just five seconds later, Ander Huffines extended the lead. Gavin Gordon added another unassisted goal to push Columbia ahead, 6-4.

The Koalas continued their run early in the fourth quarter as Gordon scored twice more to complete his hat trick, including a short-handed goal with 11:04 left to play, extending the lead to 8-4.

Midland refused to go quietly. Bartling completed his hat trick with 45 seconds remaining, and Asher Thomas added another goal with 17 seconds left to cut the deficit to two. The late surge came up short as Columbia secured the 8-6 victory.

Bartling led Midland with three goals on seven shots. Powers, Thomas, and Kopecky each added a goal. Thiel recorded the lone assist for the Warriors, while Sean Erickson made 16 saves on 24 shots faced.

Powered by a 29-7 shot differential in the middle two quarters, the Koalas outshot the Warriors 47-29 and committed fewer turnovers, finishing with 24 compared with Midland's 32.

The Warriors return to action Feb. 28 for their home opener in Fremont, Nebraska, against Missouri Valley College. The game at Heedum Field is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.