Photo by Kami Wood
McPherson, Kan. – The Central Christian College women's soccer team lost a heartbreaker on Friday night, at home against the Wayland Baptist University Pioneers.
Looking at the box score, it would appear that the Pioneers won a lopsided affair, but in fact despite winning nearly every statistical category, they narrowly escaped with a 2-1 win. The Tigers actually led for the majority of the game, but gave up two goals in the final 17 minutes of play.
Late in the opening half, Katelynne Maldonado played a ball down the left sideline to Aliyah Moya. Moya beat her defender and turned the corner inside the 18 yard box. She fired a shot from a sharp angle from just outside the six yard box the ball ricocheted off the far post and found the back of the net.
Up 1-0 at the break, the Tigers tried to maintain their form and continue to survive. They hoped the 1 goal would hold up but still pressed for another. They had a few chances early in the second half but were unable to find an insurance goal. With just over 17 minutes left in regulation, the Pioneers found the equalizer on a corner kick. In the 85th minute they scored the game winner.
Katelyn Beckman had a fantastic game in goal for the Tigers. She face 34 total shots, 13 of them on goal, and came away with 11 saves.
Coach Macharia summed up the match saying, "It's was another battle for our girls one that I think we were lucky not to concede goals in the first 20 minutes. We were a better team in the middle of the first half and we rewarded with a great goal from Aliyah Moya. Second half we began a little slow and took a lot of pressure from wayland Baptist. I felt like had we held them goalless for 10 more minutes we would have won the game. After they tied up they we were relentless. We now have 2 very tough matches against USAO and JBU. Both ranked opponents."
With the loss, the Tigers are still looking for their first Sooner Athletic Conference win. They set at 4-7-1 overall, and 0-4-1 in conference play. They get a few days off before returning to the pitch. They will go on the road next Wednesday, travelling to Chickasha, Oklahoma for a match up with the USAO Drovers. Kick-off is slated for 5:00 pm.
