McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College men's soccer team extended their current winning streak to five games, with a 1-0 shutout, on senior day, of the Avila University Eagles, but they needed overtime to get it done.
The Bulldogs dominated the play from the opening whistle. The controlled the time of possession, and most of the time, the only reason the ball found its way into the Bulldogs' defensive third of the field, was when the midfield passed the ball back to the back line, trying to stretch out the Eagles, and creating more space for the Bulldog offense to work. Despite being in control from the start, the Bulldogs struggled to create scoring chances. They had a total of 20 shots in the game, and placed 8 of them on frame, but were unable to convert any of their opportunities.
After 90 minutes of action, the game remained scoreless, and both teams prepared for overtime. Heading into the extra session, the game felt like one of those games that is lopsided, but either ends in a tie, or worse the dominated team gets one chance and makes the most of it. Anyone who has played or coached the game of soccer has been a part of that type of game. But credit the Bulldogs, they didn't panic, or do anything different in overtime. They continued to build through the back, switching the field and keeping the Eagles constantly on the move. Finally, just four minutes into the first overtime period, the Bulldogs broke through.
Hernan Maldonado (Sr. National City, Calif.) served a ball into the 18 yard box that was headed out by the Eagles.
Dennis Schorb (Fr. Malsch, Germany) ran up to the ball, and played a one touch pass back into the box. The Eagle defenders misjudged the ball trajectory, and it floated over their heads.
Diego Loza (Sr. San Diego, Calif.) collected it, took one dribble and buried the game winner into the lower right corner of the goal. For Loza, it was his 2
nd game winning goal of the season, and his 6
th overall.
Bulldog head coach,
Doug Quint, commented on the win saying, "Today we certainly controlled every aspect of the game but struggled to find that quality ball in the attacking third. It sure was nice to see Diego find that game winner." He went on to talk about his seniors adding, "Today was all about our great group of seniors! They have accomplished a lot in a Bulldog uniform and continue to make us all proud!"
Prior to the game, the Bulldogs honored 9 seniors,
Chris Kelly,
Hernan Maldonado,
David Mwinga,
Brian Cano,
Valentin Ramirez,
Diego Loza,
Sadam Ali,
Tony Del Valle, and
Tyler Minney. These nine guys have been a part of 46 wins in their career, and are the only group to in program history to defeat a #1 ranked team. They accomplished feat in 2016 when they went on the road and defeated Oklahoma Wesleyan 2-0.
With today's win, the Mac men move to 7-6-3 overall, and 7-2-2 in KCAC play. They will wrap up their regular season at home on Tuesday when they host the Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles, currently ranked 2
nd in the nation. Kickoff Tuesday is slated for 7:30 pm at McPherson Stadium.
