Men's Soccer | 3/20/2021 10:55:00 PM
Box Score Photo by Jakob Komel
McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College men's soccer team went toe to toe with the 13th ranked team in the nation, the Bellevue University Bruins, at home on Saturday, and came away with a 1-1 draw.
The Bulldogs looked sharp out the gate, much different than their last outing a week ago against the Benedictine Ravens. In the 23rd minute of the opening half, Navid Istanbullu took the ball down the right wing. He beat the Bruin defender to the end line and then played a ball across the six yard box, where a sliding Marcus Fernandes was there to make contact and slot the ball past the Bruin goal keeper.
Unfortunately, less than a minute later, the Bruins were awarded a penalty kick on a foul inside the 18 yard box on the other end of the field. The Bruins converted the pk attempt to tie the game at 1. For the next 86 minutes and change that's where the score would remain. Both teams had a couple of quality looks over that span, but couldn't find a way to convert and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
The Bruins had the advantage in shots 19 to 8, and in shots on goal 7 to 4. The Bulldogs had eight corner kicks, seven of them in the first half and one in the first overtime session, to just three for the Bruins. Jose Alonso got the start in net for the Bulldogs, playing the entire first half. He registered three saves and gave up the goal on the penalty kick. Colby Swift played the entire second half and the two overtime sessions, holding the Bruins scoreless and also registering three saves.
"Good result for us against a quality side," said Bulldog head coach Doug Quint. "Most of their opportunities came from balls that were flighted into our box which we dealt with well today. They certainly rely on set pieces and are good at them. Today we really battled well to win those challenges and pick up the second balls." He went on to add, "We created some real dangerous moments in the run of play. As the game wore on I really felt we wore them down. Late in the game I felt we were going to find the winner but just didn't finish our opportunities. As always it was a fun, competitive match and a good result against a top side."
With the draw, the Bulldogs are now 8-3-4 on the year. They will be back on the pitch next Saturday, for their first KCAC match of the spring, hosting the Ottawa University Braves at Paul Family Field.
Â
