McPherson, Kan. – In the quarterfinals of the 2015 KCAC Postseason Tournament, the No. 3 McPherson College Bulldogs defeated the No. 6 Bethany College Swedes. After an exciting battle between the two sides, the 'Dogs came out victorious 2-0, sending them into the second round.
"We should have put this game away in the first half," said Coach Quint. "Our lack of finishing kept Bethany in the ball game. To have 22 shots and only put five on frame is definitely something that we will be addressing this week. Defensively we had another solid performance and the guys did what we worked on all week. It was a nice win for us!"
The match wasn't just another inter-county rivalry match, it was for the chance to head into the semifinals of the conference tournament. MC came out focused and determined. The first half could not have gone much better for the Bulldogs as they were precise in nearly every facet of the game. Passes were crisp, defense stood strong, goalkeeper play was on point; the only negative for Mac was their shots were going off target. McPherson was in full attack mode for most of the opening period; they ended the half with 10 shot attempts. It took 17 minutes and 26 seconds before the 'Dogs scored their first goal but they did so on a brilliant header by Nick Torres off a Christopher Kelly service. MC had two more very, very good looks at goal but were wide on both accounts; they went into the locker room with all the momentum but up just 1-0.
In the second half, Bethany came out the aggressors as they desperately searched for the equalizer. The Bulldog defense held and goal keeper Aaron Parrott showed his determination to get his team into the next round. As the half wore on, McPherson started to take a few more chances, getting some solid looks off of counters. Finally, in the 90th minute, Omar Perez sealed the game with his walk-in goal coming off another Kelly ball. With the clock hitting 90 minutes, Mac took the match, 2-0.
The 'Dogs ended the night taking 22 shots at the goal with five on goal. Torres led the team with his seven strikes, the one goal was the lone try on target. Brayam De La Cruz took four shots and saw two saved. Jose Angulo also attempted four at the BC goal, none made it on frame.
Parrott tallied seven saves in his seventh shutout of the season.
McPherson will now take on No. 2 Friends University on November 12th at 2:00 p.m. (CT) at the Hummer Sports Complex in Topeka, Kansas. The quarterfinal match will determine who will advance to the finals which are set for Saturday afternoon.
Click here for a KCAC tournament bracket.
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
