Photo by Jakob Komel
McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College women's soccer team kicked off Homecoming 2020 in thrilling fashion, defeating the Avila University Eagles 2-1 in double overtime.
As exciting as the finish was, the game probably should have never made into the extra frame. The Bulldogs had multiple one on one chances with the Eagles' keeper, but converted on just one. The score after 45 minutes of action could have easily been four or five to zero if the Bulldogs had converted on their chances, but instead they had to settle for a 1-0 lead at the intermission.
The lone Bulldog goal in the first half came off the foot of Ashley Esquivel (Sr. Eastvale, Calif.), when she got in behind the Eagle defense on a beautiful pass from Vannesa Cisneros (Jr. North Highlands, Calif.). The Eagle defense figured some things out during the break, and didn't give up any more one v ones in the second half. The Bulldogs managed to hold on to the lead for the first 30 minutes of the second half. In the 76th minute, the Eagles got the equalizer from Hannah Coates assisted by Kirryn Killingsworth.
Neither team was able to create any more offensive opportunities in the final 14 minutes so the game headed into overtime. After the first ten minutes of extra soccer, the score remained tied a one, so the teams switched ends of the field, and tried it again. With just under three minutes to play in the second overtime, Esquivel played a ball into the middle of the field just outside of the 18 yard box. An Eagle defender miss handled the ball and as it got by her, it was won by Cisneros who took a couple of touches and then beat the keeper to the far post to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 victory.
Christie Silber (Sr. Simi Valley, Calif.) picked up the win for the Bulldogs in goal. She faced six shots on goal, and came away with five saves. The Bulldogs outshot the Eagles 15 to 12 overall, and had the advantage in shots on goal as well at 10 to 6.
Coach Olson commented on the win saying, "I'm proud of our resilience in today's game. Despite only scoring one goal in the first half after creating many scoring opportunities the players kept fighting and playing hard. It's easy to get frustrated and stop playing after missing some of the chances we created but the team stayed positive." He also gave credit to the Eagles adding, "I thought Avila stepped up their game at the end of the first half and most of the second half but we didn't help ourselves when we stopped pressuring them." He finished by saying, "It was nice to see Ashley score her first goal on the year and then our juco transfer, Vannesa, get the game winner."
With the win, the Bulldogs move to 2-3 in conference play. They will get a chance to get their record back to .500 when they host the Bethany College Swedes at Paul Family field next Saturday. Kick-off for the intra-country rivalry game is set for 12:00 pm.
