Kelly Scores Twice as Men's Soccer Rocks York, 6-1

YORK, Neb. (macbulldogs.com) --- Christopher Kelly (Glasgow, Scotland, St. Ambrose HS) scored two goals and assisted on another as the McPherson College men's soccer team blasted York College, 6-1, Saturday in a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup at the Cornerstone Complex.

The Bulldogs (9-6, 8-2 KCAC), winners of four in a row, scored five first-half goals.

Kelly kicked things off with a goal off an assist by Greg Roller (Topeka, Kan., Pratt CC) in the 7th minute, then made it 2-0 with another goal - again assisted by Roller - seven minutes later.

Erik Espinoza (San Ysidro, Calif., San Diego Mesa College) made it 3-0 with an unassisted tally in the 17th minute. Edward Gomez (Lancaster, Calif., College of the Canyons) followed with a goal in the 26th minute off an assist from Sadam Ali (Tucson, Ariz., Pima CC), while Ian Canevari (Valencia, Calif., College of the Canyons) scored off a feed from Kelly in the 35th minute.

The lead held until the 61st minute when Nathan Buzi broke up the shutout. The goal prevented McPherson from posting a fourth straight clean sheet and ended the squad's shutout streak at 333 minutes and 26 seconds.

The Bulldogs added a goal in the final seconds of the match as Navid Istanbullu (Bremen, Germany, Oberschule Rockwinkel) headed in a free kick by Jared Robbins (Cotati, Calif., Santa Rosa JC). The free kick had been awarded following the issuance of a red card to a York player.

Both teams were credited with 12 shots and nine shots on goal.

Kelly led McPherson with four shots, including two on goal. With his assist of Canevari's goal, he pushed his career assist total to 23 and sits just two shy of the current record set by Armando Rodriguez from 2006-2009. No other Bulldog finished with multiple shots. Jose Alonso (Wichita, Kan., Derby HS) had seven saves in goal, while the team was also credited with a save.

Alan Chairez had four shots to lead York, including three shots on goao. Raul Iglesias and Jacob Rodriguez each had two shots. Bryce Kinsey made one save in goal.

"What a nice way to finish what has been a real good week for us," said head coach Doug Quint. "Offensively, we were sharp again today in possession. Today, we moved the ball well and were able to get in behind their back line a lot. Our goal is to be playing our best at the end of the season and we certainly are."

The Bulldogs close out the regular season Tuesday evening when Kansas Wesleyan University (9-8, 7-3 KCAC) comes to town for a key KCAC matchup. McPherson has already locked up the No. 2 seed in the upcoming KCAC Tournament and will host a quarterfinal game.