Photo by Junior Silva
Article by Marcus Fernandes
McPherson, Kan. - On Friday, The McPherson College Men's Soccer team opened the KCAC play with a solid 3-0 win against Sterling College, a team picked number #4 in the conference preseason poll.
The match was full of expectations. Like the Bulldogs, the Warriors had an outstanding season last year, reaching the first round of the nationals. The Warriors were just one of two teams to beat the Bulldogs in KCAC play last season. There was much anticipation surrounding Friday's game, but due to weather conditions, the game had a 1 hour and 15 minutes delay.
Despite the wait, both teams started the game at a good pace, each one following their game plan. The Bulldogs were always looking to build out of the back and connect passes, while Sterling was playing a direct game, sending long balls. The warriors held the Bulldogs in the first minutes, the first goal of the match did not take long to come. In the 12th minute of the first half, (So.) Jorge Abdiel Ramos passed the ball between two defenders, finding (So.)
Antoine Detavernier, who beat the goalkeeper with a near-post, upper 90 finish.
 Even one goal down, the Warriors were looking to bounce back in the game. However, the Bulldogs scored their second shortly after. (So.)
Nhlakanipho Methula found himself with the ball inside the box, on a nifty flick header from Ramos. The midfielder did not waste his opportunity, scoring a goal for the second match in a row. The Bulldogs finished the first half with a two goal advantage.
The second half did not bring any change of scenarios. The warriors had the intent to revert the score, but the Bulldogs' defense remained solid. The Bulldogs improved their ball movement and created more opportunities to score. On a possessional attack, Detavernier received the ball on the right wing, beat a defender, and played the ball across the box. The goalkeeper deflected the ball, but (Sr.)
Carlos Reyna was there to get the rebound and score.
After the third goal, the Warriors tried a late reaction sending more numbers forward. The effort did not have any result. The Bulldogs had another good performance defensively. The team controlled the match and got the second clean sheet of the season.
Bulldog Head coach
Doug Quint expressed his thoughts on the game saying, "That was a good way to get conference play rolling. I thought we were really good again defensively tonight. We just continue to make things difficult for people. Offensively it was nice to see us implement things straight from the training pitch. We just now need to do a better job of picking and choosing our moments."
With the win, the Bulldogs move to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the KCAC. They will be back in action next Wednesday at 7:30 pm at Joel H. Wiens Stadium in Hillsboro, Kansas against Tabor College.
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