Photo by Natalia Ahrens
McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College men's soccer team played to a 1-1 draw in their home opener on Saturday against the University of Science and Arts Oklahoma.
The Bulldogs knew they were going to be in for a fight against the Drovers, who are a perennial top 25 team. Up to the task, the Bulldogs came out and took it straight at the Drovers, controlling possession in the midfield and creating several chance early in the first half. The Bulldogs finally broke through in the 22nd minute off of a set piece in the Drovers' defensive third.
Justus Kohler (Sr. Prosselsheim, Germany) took the free kick from the right side, playing a beautiful ball into the box. Sean Thomson (Jr. Dorset, England) timed it perfectly, and headed the ball past the keeper into the back of the net. That would be the only goal of the half and the Bulldogs would take a 1-0 lead into the break.
The Bulldogs continued to battle in the second half, but got away from the game plan that gave them success before the break. Twenty minutes into the second half, the Drovers got in behind the Bulldog defense. Colby Swift (So. Sedgwick, Kan.) stopped a point blank shot from the penalty spot, but the ball deflected right back into the field of play where the Drovers slammed home the rebound to tie the game at 1-1.
The Bulldogs had three more really good looks at goal after conceding the equalizer. Navid Istanbullu (Sr. Bremen, Germany) had a header inside the six that the Drover keeper made a brilliant save on, Jorge Abdiel Ramos Hernandez (So. Jalisco, Mexico) hit a volley from the top of the 18 that just missed the upper 90, and Thomson nearly had his second goal of the day, but miss timed a ball right in front of the net.
Tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation, the Bulldogs and Drovers headed into overtime. There wasn't much action by either team in either overtime session, so the game ended in a tie.
Swift played a great game in goal for the Bulldogs. He was under fire all day, facing 11 shots on goal from USAO, and stopping 10 of them. The Bulldogs offense generated five shots on goal, connecting on just the one.
Coach Quint was proud of the effort his guys gave saying, "Overall our work rate was fantastic against a quality opponent today. That is the team we have seen throughout training and it was nice to see them have a positive performance. We created numerous opportunities in possession, had a great finish off a set piece, hit the bar 3 times and missed a sitter. I was real pleased how we performed today."
The Bulldogs will be back in action next Saturday in a 7:00 pm match-up on the road at Friends University in Wichita, Kan.
