McPherson, Kan. – The stars nearly aligned for McPherson College women's soccer on Tuesday. After escaping elimination from postseason last Saturday with a 3-2 win over Southwestern, the team needed a couple things to happen in order to make the upcoming conference tournament. First, they needed to defeat or tie Bethany College. Second, they needed Sterling College to take down Southwestern College. Only one of those two things happened, SC won 1-0 against the Builders but the Lady 'Dogs lost 2-1 in overtime to the Swedes.
In the first period on Tuesday, Bethany held the advantage for the opening minutes but a stiff defense by the Bulldogs kept the score even. It wasn't until 35th minute that the first point was put on the scoreboard as the Swedes took a 1-0 lead. Just over a minute later, McPherson's Cydney Lewis was fouled inside the 18-yard box which awarded the Bulldogs with a Penalty Kick; Jessica Dominguez slotted the ball into the goal to even things at 1-1. BC held an 11-5 advantage on shots taken in the first half.
In the second, things evened out and the Lady 'Dogs became the aggressors in the later stages. Mac couldn't seem to find the one pass needed to put them in front and after surviving a couple scares from the Swedes, the two teams were heading to overtime. McPherson held the possession in OT but not the shots as BC took six and Mac recorded zero. The final shot of the night came in the 97th minute as Bethany scored the "golden goal" to claim the 2-1 victory.
Of the team's 11 shots, Dominguez was responsible for three; just the PK went on frame. Morgan Anderson and Rebekah Gallegos-Romero each tabbed two shot attempts.
Senior Tori Verdieck started the game in goal for Mac but had to be relieved in the 40th minute due to injury. Sophomore Caitlyn Blagrave finished out the contest and recorded six saves in her 56+ minutes.
The Bulldogs are done for the season as only the top six teams advance to postseason play. McPherson closes out the year at 5-12-1 overall and 3-6 in the KCAC.
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
