McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- Ian Canevari scored two goals and assisted on another as the McPherson College men's soccer team advanced to the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Tournament semifinals with a 5-1 victory over York College Saturday night at McPherson Stadium.
The Bulldogs (11-6), seeded second, struck quickly as
Greg Roller (Topeka, Kan., Pratt CC) scored off an assist from
Sadam Ali (Tucson, Ariz., Pima CC) in the seventh minute. In the 32nd minute,
Jared Robbins (Cotati, Calif., Santa Rosa JC) dropped in a service from 40 yards out that crossed in front of York goalkeeper Francisco Esteves. A sprinting Canevari was able to beat Esteves to the ball and chip it in for a goal to give McPherson a 2-0 lead at the break.
Goals came in quick succession in the second half. In the 49th minute,
Diego Loza (San Diego, Calif., San Diego Mesa College) took a pass from
Edward Gomez (Lancaster, Calif., College of the Canyons) and drove deep into the near corner. Near the end line, he lofted a cross to the back corner that Canevari deposited past Esteves.
Aaron McCready (Raphoe, Ireland, Royal and Prior Comprehensive School) followed in the 55th minute with a blast from 30 yards out that hit the crossbar just out of Esteves' reach and bounced straight down into the goal.
The final Bulldog goal came in the 58th minute when
Kaonnye Opazo (Lancaster, Calif., College of the Canyons) served a ball in from deep in the corner. Canevari crashed in on the ball and attempted to head the ball to Esteves' feet but the York goalkeeper was able to make the save.
Christopher Kelly (Glasgow, Scotland, St. Ambrose HS) picked the rebound out of the air and easily headed the ball into the goal.
The seventh-seeded Panthers (5-12-1) broke up the shutout just second later as Mateus Ramalho picked up an errant McCready header on a 50-50 ball and beat a diving
Jose Alonso (Wichita, Kan., Derby HS) one-on-one to his right.
McPherson finished with 14 shots overall, led by three from Gomez. McCready and Canevari each had two shots. Johan Rodriguez had three shots - two on goal - to lead York.
Alonso made four saves in goal for the Bulldogs, while Esteves finished with one save.
"[It was a] nice win by our men tonight," said head coach
Doug Quint. I was a little concerned with the quick turnaround as we played at York just last weekend, but our guys really stayed focused and had some good moments. We are going to enjoy this for a day and get prepared to play Tuesday night."
The Bulldogs advance to the semifinals of the KCAC Men's Soccer Tournament and will host sixth-seeded Tabor (8-8-1) at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening inside McPherson Stadium. The Bluejays upset third-seeded Ottawa, 1-0, in overtime Friday night. Tuesday's winner will face either top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan (17-1-1) or fourth-seeded Kansas Wesleyan (10-9) on Friday, Nov. 10, for the KCAC Tournament title and its associated automatic berth to the 2017 NAIA Men's Soccer Championship.
