BARTLESVILLE, Okla. --- McPherson College advanced to the championship match of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Men's Soccer Tournament with a 2-0 upset win over top-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan University at the OKWU Soccer Complex on Wednesday.
It is the first win over an NAIA top-ranked team for any McPherson progam.
The Bulldogs (14-4-2) led 1-0 at halftime on a goal by
Christopher Kelly (Glasgow, Scotland, St. Ambrose HS) in the 37th minute off a cross from
Nick Torres (McPherson, Kan., McPherson HS).
OKWU (18-1-1) had a couple of clear chances in the first half – the first tagged the inside of the left post behind McPherson netminder
Arthur Lamparter (Schweinfurt, Germany, University of Houston-Victoria) in the 18th minute, ricocheted back across the goal mouth and rolled harmlessly away; the second came in the midst of a series of Eagle corner kicks with around 12 minutes to play when the hosts were called offside mere meters away from the goal.
Oklahoma Wesleyan outshot McPherson, 13-2, in the first half, but each team managed just two shots on goal. The Eagles also had a commanding 7-0 edge in corner kicks, many in succession prior to the offside call and disallowed goal.
The Bulldogs added to their advantage in the 58th minute when Kelly played a beautiful cross across the 18, finding a streaking Torres down the left side for the goal.
OKWU had a series of chances eight minutes later but each was turned away by Lamparter and company.
The Eagles, who controlled possession for the vast majority of the game, finished with 31 shots to McPherson's five. Only six of those 31 were on frame, however, compared to three of five for the Bulldogs. Â OKWU also held a 14-1 advantage in corner kicks but could not convert.
Lamparter finished with six saves, while Stojanovic stopped one.
Kelly accounted for three of McPherson's five shots, while
Edward Gomez (Lancaster, Calif., College of the Canyons) and Torres accounted for one apiece.
Three Eagles – Nemaja Zalad, Alberto Picchi, and Daniel Cordeiro – finished with four shots apiece, while Perica Obrodovic, Caio Ruiz, Leonardo Machado and Victor Gouveia had three shots each. Cordeiro and Gouveia both had two shots on goal.
"What a monumental win for our program and our institution," said head coach
Doug Quint. "I'm so proud of this group and blessed to be a part of it. Tonight, we executed our gameplan against them to a 'T." We were brilliant defensively and, offensively, we capitalized on our chances. What a performance by senior Nick Torres tonight on the biggest stage. Couldn't be more proud of him. Such a gamer!"
The fourth-seeded Bulldogs advance to Saturday night's tournament finale against Friends (14-5-1), which will be held in Wichita after the third-seeded Falcons upended second-seeded Kansas Wesleyan, 2-1, on Wednesday in Salina. Kickoff is schedule for 7 p.m.
