No. 3 Point Park men advance past No. 6 Midway (Ky.) in RSC Championship quarters

PITTSBURGH -- No. 3 seed Point Park University is moving on to the River States Conference Championship semifinals. That's after the Pioneers beat No. 6 Midway (Ky.) in the quarterfinal round, 3-0, from Cupples Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 4.

Point Park (10-5-3, 6-3-1 RSC) will play at No. 6-nationally ranked Rio Grand (Ohio) in the semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 8. The RedStorm is 13-1-2 and the No. 2 seed in the bracket. 

The Pioneers earned the seventh shutout on the year, and they did it in playoff fashion over Midway. 

It was a tidy win for Point Park, which had to protect a 1-0 lead through the first half before pulling away with two goals the final 45 minutes. 

Philipp Harder scored two goals for the Pioneers to push his season totals to 15 goals and 35 points. He first struck in the 19th minute, a goal that was the only tally the first half. 

Moritz Sarfert, who had earlier assisted to Harder, made the score 2-0 in the 55th minute. He got on the end of a header after a pss in from Alejandro Perez on the assist. 

With just under eight minutes left, Harder sealed the game with his brace. Matheus Lima set up the play for his assist. 

Point Park mounted 15 shots compared to seven for Midway (Ky.). The Eagles had three of their shots come on goal. The Pioneers defense turned away seven corner kicks without giving up any goals. 

Point Park has 10 wins for the first time since 2019 when it was 15-3. The last time the Pioneers were in the conference semifinals, they faced Rio Grande on the road in the 2020-21 season. They lost 3-0 at the RedStorm on April 13, 2021.