Men's Soccer kicks off KCAC schedule with a Tie

By Drew Brunecz
 
McPherson College men's soccer team opened up their conference schedule at home Wednesday evening against Tabor College, and ended with a 1-1 tie.
 
McPherson had plenty of opportunities to score, as they were on the attack for most of the game, and totaled 23 shots. They were very aggressive from the very start, but couldn't get anything going until the 62nd minute, when Chris Kelly (Sr. Glasgow, England) lifted a shot over the goalie's' head to take a 1-0 lead. It seemed as if the Bulldogs had the game in the bag, when Tabor's Christopher Aguilar (So. San Diego, California) lifted an eerily similar floater into the goal to tie it up 16 ½ minutes later.

Despite giving up a late goal, third string goalie Luis Valdez-Rivera (Fr. Sachse, Texas) performed quite well given the pressure. He had six total saves, one which came late in the game and seemed to save the win until Tabor later scored.

There were plenty of opportunities for Tabor late in the game including one coming on a penalty kick in the fifth minute of the second overtime, but they could not capitalize as the Bluejay sent the ball over the goal, hitting the crossbar of the football goalpost.
 
Despite ending the game with a tie, there was plenty of hope for the future, especially when you consider the fact that the Bulldogs have yet to play a game completely healthy.
 
McPherson will take a (0-4-2, 0-0-1) record, into their next matchup on Saturday, September 22, against the Southwestern Builders (5-1) at 3:00 p.m. in "The Kennel" as the Bulldogs continue to search for their first win.