Lindsborg, Kan. - The McPherson Men's Soccer team headed to Bethany College another KCAC match-up. Looking to bring their sixth conference win, the bulldogs showed persistence to find a late winning goal.
Today's match had a great performance from the Bulldogs in the first 30 minutes of the game. The Bulldogs had the ball for the most time, showed accuracy on the passes, and found many spaces on the field. The absolute control of the Bulldogs punished the Swedes early in the game. At the 11th minute of the game, (So.) Antoine Detavernier got on the end line and slipped the ball across the box. The ball passed in front of the goal and (So.) Samuel Box just pushed it to the goal.
The goal hurt the Swedes in the game. The Bulldog's constant pressure prevented Bethany's defense from pushing up. The Bulldogs did not slow down their rhythm. They were chasing a second goal in the match. Although the Bulldogs dominated most of the first half, the Swedes found an equalizer. After an intercepted pass in the back third, their forward Kevin Sithole Finished inside the box to tie the game.
The goal changed the scenario of the game. In the first half, the Bulldogs set the tone with great offensive production. The second half had the Bulldogs creating more chances. On the other hand, the Swedes improved in the game and started to be more dangerous. Both teams looked for a tiebreaker for the whole second half, but a red card against Bethany put the Bulldogs in control of the game again.
Taking advantage of having one more man on the field, the Bulldogs pressured the Swedes in their defensive half. With the Bulldog's unlucky final product, the game was heading to overtime. However, with 10 seconds to the end of the game (So.) Nipho Methula had a big throw in the box. (Sr.) Marcus Fernandes tried to bring it down with his chest, and the ball ended up with (Jr.) Sean Thompson. The midfielder had a first-time finish. The ball slightly deflected a Bethany defender before finding the net. The late goal sealed a valuable win for the Bulldogs.
After the game bulldog head coach, Doug quint expressed his thoughts on the game, "It took us a little longer than necessary tonight to find that winner but we did. At the end of the day we did and that is what matters."
The win leaves the Bulldogs at 9-3 overall and 6-1 in the KCAC. They will be back on the pitch on Wednesday when they head to Wichita. The game against Friends University Kicks off at 5:30 p.m.
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