BARTLESVILLE, Okla. (macbulldogs.com) --- McPherson College scored the opening goal and held the lead at the break, but No. 3 Oklahoma Wesleyan University responded with five second-half goals to score a 5-2 victory in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) men's soccer action Saturday afternoon at the OKWU Soccer Field.
The Bulldogs (5-6, 4-2 KCAC) - who defeated Oklahoma Wesleyan in the semifinals of last year's league tournament - struck first as
Diego Loza (San Diego, Calif., San Diego Mesa College) scored off an assist from
Kaonnye Opazo (Lancaster, Calif., College of the Canyons) in the 18th minute. The lead held through the halftime break, but the Eagles (11-1-1, 6-0 KCAC) picked up the equalizer less than two minutes into the second half as Jovan Petrovic found the back of the net off a feed from Stefan Lukic.
OKWU added another goal - an unassisted tally by Jose Ponce in the 55th minute - to take the lead. McPherson responded in the 64th minute as
Christopher Kelly (Glasgow, Scotland, St. Ambrose HS) added an unassisted tally of his own to tie the match at 2-2. Any momentum the Bulldogs gained off Kelly's goal would be short-lived, however, as OKWU's Aleksandar Simovic put a shot past McPherson keeper
Jose Alonso (Wichita, Kan., Derby HS) just into the 66th minute. He would add another in the 88th, sandwiched around a Lukic goal in the 78th minute.
Kelly was the only Bulldog with multiple shots with two, including a shot on goal. Alonso was credited with a pair of saves.
Lukic led all players with four shots, including two on goal, while Simovic, Daniel Cordeiro and Alberto Picchi all added two shots apiece for the Eagles.
"I was pleased with our fight today," said head coach
Doug Quint. "To lead a team like (OKWU) on the road at halftime says a lot about this group. We took their best shot early in the second half and, after conceding the lead, were able to equalize right away. In the end, though, you can't have any lapses against a team that good, and we did late in the game.
The Bulldogs, who play three of the next four on the road, are at Southwestern on Wednesday, Oct. 18, and at Bethany on Saturday, Oct. 21. The Southwestern match is slated for an 8 p.m. kickoff, while the Bethany match is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.
