McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) ---
Christopher Kelly (Glasgow, Scotland, St. Ambrose HS) scored two goals and two assists, while
Sadam Ali (Tucson, Ariz., Pima CC) added a goal and three assists as the McPherson College men's soccer team posted a 7-0 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) victory over the University of Saint Mary on Senior Night Wednesday at McPherson Stadium.
The Bulldogs (8-6, 7-2 KCAC) tallied a pair of goals in the game's first five minutes, added another in the 61st, then exploded for four in the final 17 minutes to shut out the Spires (5-11, 1-8 KCAC).
McPherson applied plenty of early pressure. Just two minutes in, Kelly drove the ball down the left side of the field and fired a shot that Saint Mary goalkeeper Enrique Gonzales was somehow able to get gloves on. Unfortunately for Gonzales, though, the deflection immediately found the foot of
Edward Gomez (Lancaster, Calif., College of the Canyons), who evaded the keeper with a dribble and fired the ball into the wide-open goal.
Just under two minutes later,
Greg Roller (Topeka, Kan., Pratt CC) sent a service into the 18-yard box from over 50 yards out. A racing
Ian Canevari (Valencia, Calif., College of the Canyons) beat Gonzales to the ball, chipping it over the keeper and just inside the far post for the goal.
The two-goal lead stood for the Bulldogs through the halftime break and well into the second half before Kelly used a nifty outside-in pass to feed a streaking Roller in the 61st minute. Roller split a pair of Spires defenders before beating Gonzales to the near side to put McPherson up 3-0.
Kelly scored his two goals 15 seconds apart in the 75th minute - both off assists from Ali. Ali set up the first by intercepting a Saint Mary pass and - after a quick turn - found Kelly cutting toward the goal. Kelly took a small dribble, then sent a shot past Gonzalez. Off the ensuing restart, Ali again picked off an errant Spires pass - this time in the middle of the field - and dumped it off to Kelly, who smoothly lofted a shot into the upper left 90 from 23 yards out.
Ten minutes later, Ali found
Marcus Brasley (Frisco, Texas, Centennial HS) cutting towards the goal. Brasley had the ball poked away by a USM defender in the box, but Ali - who continued to trail on the play after making the pass - was there to put away the loose ball past an out-of-position Gonzalez.
The final McPherson goal was initiated by Ali on a breakaway after the Bulldogs were able to successfully clear a Saint Mary corner kick. Ali streaked down the left sideline and found
Tyler Minney (Stewkley, England, Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School) cutting toward the goal with a spot-on pass. Minney beat Gonzalez one-on-one for the tally.
The Bulldogs finished with 16 shots overall, including 11 in the second half, and held a 4-3 advantage in corner kicks.
Kelly matched the entire Saint Mary team with five shots, with four finding the frame. He also moved into a tie with Nick Torres for second place on the program's career assists chart with 22. The current program record is 25 set by Armando Rodriguez from 2006-2009.
Gomez added four shots, while Canevari and
Navid Istanbullu (Bremen, Germany, Oberschule Rockwinkel) had two apiece.
DeShaun Ruiz (Choctaw, Okla., Carl Albert Senior HS) made one save en route to his first solo shutout of the season. He shared last weekend's shutout of Bethany with
Jose Alonso (Wichita, Kan., Derby HS). It was the third straight clean sheet - and fifth overall - for the Bulldogs.
Branden Sanchez was the only Spire with multiple shots, finishing with two.
Prior to the match, the program's eight seniors -- Gomez, Roller, Canevari,
Kaonnye Opazo (Lancaster, Calif., College of the Canyons),
Jared Robbins (Cotati, Calif., Santa Rosa JC),
Erik Espinoza (San Ysidro, Calif., San Diego Mesa College),
Yann Kadeba (Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, Mobile (Ala.) W.P. Davidson HS) and
Juan Negrete (Dodge City, Kan., Pratt CC) - were honored and recognized. The eight were joined in the starting XI by Kelly, Minney and Ruiz.
"What a special way to honor these great group of seniors," said head coach
Doug Quint. "It was an enjoyable night all-around. The team in the attacking third was clinical in front of goal. We finished 70 percent of our chances and showed nice composure on ball. [It is] certainly a great result for us as we head into the final two regular season games of the year."
The Bulldogs, who already have a home KCAC Tournament quarterfinal match sewn up, next face York College (5-9-1, 3-5-1 KCAC) on Saturday at the Cornerstone Soccer Complex in York, Nebraska. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m.
