McPherson, Kan – McPherson College hosted their second consecutive home KCAC battle as the York University Panthers came to town. Each side entered this matchup following a win, with the Bulldogs winning 4-0 over Southwestern the previous Saturday and the Panthers escaping the same day with a 3-2 victory over the University of Saint Mary.
The Basics
Location: McPherson Stadium
Records: MC (5-7-3, 3-4-3 KCAC), YU (10-3-2, 7-1-2 KCAC)
Score: MC 2, YU 2
How it Happened
York began the contest by taking six shots in the first 10 minutes of play, but were unable to strike past freshman goalkeeper
Mauro Soria. McPherson's first shot came from
Abdul Nafiu Moro in the 11
th minute after the ball rattled around inside the 18-yard box and popped out for Moro's shot. The rocket shot was on frame, but blocked away by a York defender keeping the game level at 0-0. In the 17
th minute, York's Franco Pablot had great opportunity with an open lane towards net, but the shot was blocked away by Soria followed by a harsh collision to which both players got up gingerly. In the 25
th minute, York struck first after a great ball into the box from Tomas Viralhadas was met by the touch of Tim Schafer, giving the Panthers the opening 1-0 advantage.
York's score was matched in the 36
th minute by the Bulldogs. After rebounding a free kick attempt off the Panthers' keeper,
Caden Hardgrave buried home the second effort to level the game at 1-1.
After finishing out the chippy first half, both teams went into the halftime break knotted up.
Through the first 15 minutes of the second half, neither side found a truly threatening attack, maintaining an equal amount of possession; that was until
Ryoga Oki and
Zane Sullivan connected for the go-ahead score in the 61
st minute of play. Sullivan, dribbling through traffic into the penalty box, found Oki towards the middle of the box and Oki's deflected shot dropped just over the gloves of the Panthers' keeper for the 2-1 lead.
The Panthers' urgency had picked up with time starting to run thin in the second half. It was Tim Schafer once again scoring his second of the match in the 80
th minute. Off the longball of Franco Pablot, Schafer's header sailed past Soria's gloves knotting the game at 2-2.
Despite a competitive remaining 10 minutes, both sides would have to settle for the 2-2 draw.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will be on the road this upcoming Sunday at Avila University on October 26
th with kickoff set for 2:30 PM at the Zarda Multisport Complex.
