Men's Soccer | 11/5/2012 3:15:00 PM
McPherson, Kan. – It was nearly one month ago when No. 10 Kansas Wesleyan took on McPherson for the first KCAC match of the season which turned out to be one of the best competitions of the year. This time, it will be in the semifinals of the conference tournament where the winner will play for a chance to be named KCAC Tournament Champions.
A trip to the NAIA National Tournament hangs in the balance for the Bulldogs as a loss would surely mean that their season would be over. The KCAC’s top seed KWU doesn’t have that kind of pressure on them as they are currently ranked 10th in the country and would all but definitely receive an at large bid into the tournament. Having that comfort won’t stop the Coyotes from giving it their all to take down their biggest rival, McPherson.
MC is coming off a 4-1 victory over the Swedes of Bethany in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament this past Saturday. They have increased their winning streak to five games and are 12-5-1 this season.
After getting up by two points early on Saturday, Bulldog goalie Fernando Gonzalez allowed his first goal in four games on a header coming on a corner kick which gave BC some much needed excitement. The Swedes were the aggressors for the next few minutes, controlling the pace of the game but McPherson’s defense stayed strong and didn’t allow another goal the remainder of the match. The same could not be said for Bethany as MC blasted two more balls into the net, giving them the 4-1 win.
The Bulldogs shot the ball 26 times and had 14 of those on goal, keeping them ranked in the NAIA in both categories; MC is eighth in shots per game (21.5) and 15th in shots on goal (4.44). Johnny Nuthall, after his five shots, is now 16th in the Nation in shots per game with 4.44; Nuthall also leads KCAC in goals and goals per game at 12 and .67, respectively.
Scouting Kansas Wesleyan
The undefeated KCAC regular season champion Coyotes will have had eight days rest heading into their matchup with McPherson as their last game was played on October 29th. That contest was a 2-1 victory for KWU against a struggling 1-16 Southwestern College team.
56 shots were taken by Kansas Wesleyan in their win with Jose Velasco having 11 of them. 16 were placed on target, 14 of which were saved by SWC’s keeper. Diego Cocon and Salvador Rosales were the two coyotes to score in the game.
The score line of the match makes the game seem closer than it actually was as the Moundbuilders scored on a misplayed bouncing ball that KWU’s keeper improperly timed and had bounce over his head. Southwestern only took one other shot the entire game.
Even though Kansas Wesleyan averages 2.5 goals an outing, their leading scorer only puts in .57 goals each match. Only one coyote has scored double-digit goals this season, Jose Velasco who has 10 in his 18 games played; he also leads the team in shots (67) and shots on target (34).
The defense of KWU has only given up 23 goals this season, shared between two keepers. Just 180 shots have been taken by opponents against Kansas Wesleyan, compare that to the 374 taken by the Coyotes and it’s easy to see why they boast a 14-2-2 regular season record. They have also easily doubled the shots on goal (186) to that of their foes (77).
