Altoona, Iowa – In the Opening Round of the 2014 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championships, McPherson College faced the difficult challenge of taking on the third seeded Grand View University Vikings. Following a back-and-forth contest, the Vikings came out victorious after a pair of second-half goals propelled them past Mac 2-1.
"I felt we stuck to our game plan until their Penalty Kick in the second half," said Coach Quint. "It really rattled us and they did a good job of taking advantage of that. Up until that point, we gave them issues in possession and kept things tight in the back. We battled hard tonight and I am proud of the guys. They left it all out on the field."
The opening period was a battle between the teams as neither wanted to give an inch in a win or go home game. McPherson's Alex Ronneburg broke the tie with his goal in the 31st minute to give the 'Dogs the advantage. The half came to a close with MC ahead 1-0 and holding all the momentum.
The second was very similar to the first as both teams did a great job of forcing tough shots. In the 71st minute the Vikings were awarded a Penalty Kick after a deflected ball ricocheted off a McPherson player's hand inside the box. The goal was scored and that created the wiggle room GVU was waiting for; the team took multiple shots over the next several minutes and finally got one past Mac's Tanner Horton in the 74th. The Bulldogs were unable to find the equalizer and fell 2-1, ending their season.
McPherson finishes the year at 14-4-2 which is the best record for Bulldog soccer since 2009 when they went undefeated through the KCAC season. Coach Quint is now 126-88-16 as a coach for MC.
The 'Dogs graduate eight seniors and will have some big shoes to fill; the team does have some key players returning, including the KCAC Offensive Player of the Year Alex Ronneburg. Coach Quint and his staff will now focus on recruiting for the 2015 season.
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
