Men's Soccer | 11/7/2012 10:53:00 PM
Box Score
Salina, Kan. – For the third straight year, McPherson men’s soccer has been ousted by the Coyotes of Kansas Wesleyan in the semifinals of the KCAC tournament; this year it was on a 4-2 loss. The Bulldogs are now done for the season, finishing with an overall record of 12-6-1.
After 20 minutes of feeling each other out, McPherson scored the first goal of the match on an
Oscar Cortez (Dallas, Texas) bomb from 30 yards away; Cortez was assisted by
Brooks Walsh (Valencia, Calif.). The lead did not last for long as KWU popped one over goal keeper
Fernando Gonzalez (Dallas, Texas) seven minutes later, evening the score at 1-1. Five minutes after that, the Coyotes celebrated again, scoring in the 33
rd minute. Kansas Wesleyan would take their 2-1 lead into the locker room.
Barely five minutes into the second half, a blown assignment by one of the McPherson defenders gave KWU another scoring opportunity which they placed into the back of the net. Down 3-1, MC started pushing players forward and was able to create multiple opportunities. One of those landed at the feet of
Sebastian Toro (Granada Hills, Calif.) who blasted it into the goal, bringing the Bulldogs within one point with just over 25 minutes remaining. McPherson continued to create chances but was unable to convert. In the 88
th minute MC keeper Gonzalez was left one-on-one with a Coyote and conceded the game’s final goal, giving Kansas Wesleyan the 4-2 victory and advancing them to the KCAC Tournament championship game.
While only five shots were recorded for McPherson, the team had plenty more opportunities.
Johnny Nuthall (Reno, Nev.) ended the game scoreless but posted two shots and put one on frame.
Michael Phillips (Spring Branch, Texas), in his final game as a Bulldog, also had one shot on goal.
Gonzalez, after only allowing one goal in the past four games, gave up four on Wednesday. The freshman made six saves in his 90 minutes.
Seven seniors will graduate for the Bulldogs and coach Doug Quint and his staff will now focus their attention on finding the players that can fill the voids left by those seniors.
