Lindsborg, KS – The offensive struggles continued for the McPherson College women's soccer team, on Saturday evening, as they fell to intra-county rival Bethany College 2-0.
Over the past three games, the Bulldogs have been solid defensively, giving up just 4 goals in those games. It's been a lack of offense that has been the issue. The Mac ladies have scored just one goal in 5 games, and that goal came from goal keeper
Christie Silber (So. Simi Valley, Calif.), against KWU.
Saturday evening was no different. The Bulldog defense did their part, holding the Swedes to one goal in each half, but the offense was unable to find the back of the net, resulting the loss for Bulldogs. The first Swede goal came early in the opening half, just 18 minutes in when the Bulldogs failed to clear the ball on a Bethany corner kick. After that the Bulldog ladies settled back in and kept the Swedes off the board the remainder of the half.
Five minutes into the second half, the Swedes played a ball into the box from about 50 yards out. Silber came off her line to grab the ball. She caught the ball just as it bounced, and as her body made contact with the ground, it popped loose. It found the foot of a Swede attacker and she poked the ball into a wide open net. Trailing 2-0, the Bulldogs settled back in, and kept the Swedes from scoring again the rest of the way, but they were unable to find an answer offensively, and the score remained 2-0 as time ran out.
The Swedes took a total of 14 shots in the game, and placed 9 on frame, while the Bulldogs managed only 4 shots, one of which forced the Swede goal keeper into a save situation. Silber played all 90 minutes in goal for the Bulldogs. She faced 9 shots from the Swedes, turning away 7 of them.
"Tonight was a typical spirited game with Bethany College" said McPherson head coach
Mark Olson. "Our young players learned a lot with a vocal group of spectators and physical play on the field. I thought the way we gave up the two goals were very unfortunate. The first came from a second cross into the box while our player was unconscious in front of the goal. The second came when they capitalized on miscommunication between a defender and keeper. This team is doing everything they can to continue to work hard, remain positive, and overcome adversity on a daily basis."
The loss drops the Bulldogs to 0-11-1, overall on the year, and 0-6-1 in the KCAC. They will return to the friendly confines of McPherson Stadium on Wednesday evening for a match up against the Sterling College Warriors. Kickoff is slated for 5:00 pm.
