BARTLESVILLE, Okla. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College men's soccer team saw its seven-match winning streak snapped with a 5-2 loss to No. 2-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan University in the championship game of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Tournament Friday night at the OKWU Soccer Complex.
Oklahoma Wesleyan (19-1-1) grabbed an early lead on a goal in the 12th minute by Alberto Picchi. Julio Belo extended the lead to 2-0 in the 17th minute when he registered a tally off an assist from Jovan Petrovic.
Ian Canevari (Valencia, Calif., College of the Canyons) got McPherson on the board with an unassisted goal - his third of the postseason - in the 27th minute.
The score held through halftime. Just four minutes into the second half, the Eagles made it 3-1 as Petrovic assisted on a goal by Daniel Cordeiro in the 49th minute.
Christopher Kelly (Glasgow, Scotland, St. Ambrose HS) cut the deficit to one with an unassisted tally in the 57th minute, but McPherson's momentum would be extinguished just three minutes later as Eddie Gomez drew a red card, which forced the Bulldogs to play a man down for the final 30 minutes. OKWU would capitalize shortly thereafter with goals by Stefan Lukic in the 62nd minute and Jose Ponce in the 67th minute.
Oklahoma Wesleyan finished the game holding a 26-4 advantage in shots, including a 14-1 edge in the second half alone. The margin in shots on goal was much closer, though, with the Eagles holding just an 8-4 edge. OKWU also had all six corner kicks in the contest.
Canevari, Kelly,
Navid Istanbullu (Bremen, Germany, Oberschule Rockwinkel) and
Greg Roller (Topeka, Kan., Pratt CC) each recorded a shot for the Bulldogs.
Jose Alonso (Wichita, Kan., Derby HS) got the start in goal for McPherson, allowing five goals without a save over the first 67 minutes.
DeShaun Ruiz (Choctaw, Okla., Carl Albert Senior HS) played the final 23 minutes, recording three saves.
Aleksandar Simovic registered five shots, while Cordeiro had four shots, including two shots on goal.
Dusan Djordjev allowed two goals and made two saves in goal for Oklahoma Wesleyan.
The Bulldogs close out the season at 12-7 overall. Friday's match marked the final game in a Bulldog uniform for eight players - Canevari, Roller,
Yann Kadeba (Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, Mobile (Ala.) W.P. Davidson HS),
Edward Gomez (Lancaster, Calif., College of the Canyons),
Kaonnye Opazo (Lancaster, Calif., College of the Canyons),
Juan Negrete (Dodge City, Kan., Pratt CC),
Jared Robbins (Cotati, Calif., Santa Rosa JC) and
Erik Espinoza (San Ysidro, Calif., San Diego Mesa College).
