Photo by Jakob Komel
Wichita, Kan. – The McPherson College men's soccer team is moving on to the KCAC Tournament Championship game, by virtue of a 2-0 win on Wednesday night in the semifinals against the Sterling College Warriors.
The Bulldogs avenged their season opening loss to the Warriors back on September 5th, which also happened to be a 2-0 shutout on the Warriors' home field. This time the Bulldogs new what to expect from Sterling, and they were prepared with a solid game plan.
The Bulldog defense was solid all night. They stifled the Warrior attack, shutting down the middle of the field, and forcing Sterling to attack from the wings. The Warriors managed just eight total shots in the game, and only four of those were on frame. Like they have been doing all spring, Jose Alonso and Colby swift split time in goal. Both goal keepers registered two saves, and with the clean sheet, Alonso is credited with the win.
The game plan on offense for the Bulldogs was to build out of the back and use the midfield to set up the attack. In the first half they got away from the plan at times, electing instead to try and play the ball over the top to the strikers up front. The times they did execute the plan, it resulted in a shot on goal. One such instance occurred in the 19th minute of the opening half. Sean Thomson received the ball in the midfield and connected with fellow midfielder Daniel Connell just outside the 18 yard box. Connell flashed some nifty footwork in the box, got the ball on his right foot, and blasted a ball on the ground near post into the back of the net to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.
Connell's goal would turnout being the game winner, but for good measure, the Bulldogs added a second goal, 19 minutes into the second frame. The Bulldogs' second goal came on a cornerkick, delivered to the head of Navid Istabnullu by the foot of Nipho Methula.
"That was another solid defensive performance by us tonight," commented Bulldog head coach Doug Quint. "That was our 9th shut-out of the season. Sterling was one of the highest scoring offenses we have faced this year and our team defensively was good again tonight. Overall we did pretty well in all aspects of the game."
With the win, the Bulldogs advance to Saturday's KCAC Championship game against the Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles, who defeated Friends University 6-1 in the first semifinal on Wednesday. Saturday's game will mark the sixth time the Bulldogs have appeared in a KCAC Tournament finals. A win on Saturday and the Bulldogs will advance to the NAIA National Tournament. Kickoff at Stryker Complex is set for 1:00 pm.Â
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