Photo by Jakob Komel
Winfield, Kan. – The McPherson College men's soccer team picked up an important result on Friday night, wrapping up the regular season with a 2-1 road win over the Southwestern College Moundbuilders.
With the win, the Bulldogs lock up the #3 seed in the upcoming KCAC tournament and will host a quarterfinal match next weekend when the tournament opens.
The Bulldogs dominated the time of possession, and made the most of their opportunities, but the Builders created more "scary" opportunities at goal. Both of the Bulldog goal keepers, Jose Alonso and Colby Swift made two outstanding reflex saves during their time in net.
The Builder got on the board first, in the 38th minute of the opening half. The Bulldogs had a free kick on their side of half field. Rather than play the ball short and keep possession, they elected to serve a ball into the Builders' 18 yard box. The Builders cleared the Bulldogs' service and went on the counter attack. One of the Southwestern attackers received the ball at the top of the box on his left foot. He turned and in one motion struck a brilliant ball to the far post past Alonso, who was shielded on the play by a Bulldog defender.
With time winding down in the first half, the Bulldog were awarded another free kick, this time just outside the Builders' 18. On the ensuing play, the Bulldogs tried to get a shot at goal, but it was deflected over the end line for a Bulldog corner kick. Nipho Methula served the ball in from the left corner to the far post. There were a lot of bodies in the area, but somehow the ball found the foot of Marcus Brasley, who slotted it past the keeper for the equalizer with just two seconds on the clock.
In the second half, the Bulldogs broke the tie 18 minutes into the frame. Sean Thomson beat his defender in the midfield and dribbled into the 18 yard box. He played a beautiful cross to the six yard box, far post where Diego Santibanez ran on and hammered the ball top shelf. The Builders had two more quality looks in the final 25 minutes, but as mentioned above, Swift made two amazing saves to keep the Bulldogs in front.
With the win, the Bulldogs finish the regular season at 10-3-4 overall, and 8-2-4 in KCAC play. Tournament pairings and game times for the KCAC tournament will be released in the next couple of days.
