STERLING, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) ---
Jared Robbins (Cotati, Calif., Santa Rosa JC) scored a pair of goals - both on penalty kicks - to lead the McPherson College men's soccer team to a 4-0 victory over Sterling College Wednesday afternoon in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) opener for both schools.
Both teams had a handful of early chances, but it was the Bulldogs (2-4, 1-0 KCAC) who finally broke through for a goal. Midway through the first half, McPherson was awarded a free kick from about 30 yards out.
Hernan Maldonado (National City, Calif., San Diego Mesa College) served the ball in to
Erik Espinoza (San Ysidro, Calif., San Diego Mesa College) on the back side for a header that beat Sterling goalkeeper Joel Chavez to the near post.
McPherson added to the lead later in the half when
Tyler Minney (Stewkley, England, Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School) found
Christopher Kelly (Glasgow, Scotland, St. Ambrose HS) with a feed across the mouth of the goal. Kelly's initial shot was blocked by Chavez but directly on to the foot of Minney, who made the easy chip into the wide open goal.
The Bulldogs regained possession of the ball almost immediately off the ensuing restart.
Diego Loza (San Diego, Calif., San Diego Mesa College) poked the ball away from a Sterling player and was driving toward the Warrior goal when a hard tackle brought him down just outside the 18. A free kick followed, on which a foul was committed by another Sterling player inside the box. The Bulldogs were awarded a penalty kick, which Robbins promptly put past Chavez. Coincident with the foul that drew the PK, Sterling's Rafael Alcolea was booked twice for dissent and sent off, leaving the Warriors to play with just 10 players the rest of the way.
The physical play continued in the second half with McPherson outshooting Sterling, 9-4. The final goal would come late in the proceedings after
Ian Canevari (Valencia, Calif., College of the Canyons) was tackled just inside the the 18 and the Bulldogs were awarded another penalty kick. Robbins, who beat Chavez to his right on the first PK, sent this one into the upper 90 to Chavez' left as the keeper looked low and to his right.
Loza led all players with five shots but only one found the frame. Robbins and Maldonado added three shots each - all on goal.
Youssef Mourchid and Adriano Marques both had two shots for Sterling.
Chavez finished with seven saves, while McPherson's
Jose Alonso (Wichita, Kan., Derby HS) was credited with one save.
Sterling was credited with eight corner kicks to McPherson's five, holding a 6-1 advantage in the second half alone.
"Sterling had a very aggressive game plan today," said head coach
Doug Quint. "They were flying into a lot of tackles in an attempt to use their physicality to dictate the pace of play. There was a point in time during the first half, though, where we had them under a ton of pressure and really started to break their lines.
"This was certainly a great way to start off the conference season," added Quint. "Sterling is a tough place to play and they came out with a lot of emotion tonight. We did a very good job of staying composed and keeping our emotions in check. Our back line was tremendous today. A shutout and three goals on the night is a pretty good performance."
The Bulldogs return to the pitch on Saturday afternoon when rival Tabor College pays a visit to McPherson for another KCAC matchup. The match is slated for a 3 p.m. kickoff in The Kennel, but may be moved to the turf inside McPherson Stadium should the natural surface be deemed unfit for play after recent rains.
