McPherson, Kan. – The Central Christian College men's soccer team played to a 1-1 draw with the Sterling College Warriors at home on Friday night, despite controlling the play for a majority of the 90 minutes of action.
In the first 45 minutes of action, the Tigers dominated the time of possession, but were unable to generate any quality looks at goal. The Warriors' strategy for the majority of the opening frame was to counter attack with a long ball over the top to their talented striker no. 9, Jocobo Sanieliu. Late in the first half the tactic nearly paid off for the Warriors. Sanfeliu got a good look at net from inside the 18 yard box, forcing Central Christian's Sebastian Herrera to make a brilliant save. It would turn out to be the only shot on goal by either team in the first half.
In the second half, the Tigers seemed to depart from their first half game plan of building out of the back and connecting passes in the midfield to set up scoring chances. For most of the half, the Warriors looked like the more technical team on the pitch. In the 64th minute, the Tigers' Ayobami Onifade was sent off with a red card from the official. Playing down a man, the Warriors capitalized in the 83rd minute when Sanfeliu found the back of the net from the penalty spot.
Four minutes later in the 87th minute, the Warriors were called for a foul inside the six yard box on a Tiger corner kick, awarding the boys in blue a penalty kick. Riccardo Di Vincenzo, the Tiger captain confidently fired the ball to the right half of the goal as the Warrior goal keeper chose to dive to the left. Neither team was able to create much of anything in the final three minutes of action, and with the new rule in the NAIA this year, the game ended in a tie without going to an overtime period.
"Very intense game tonight, as any rivalry should be," said CCCK head coach Aaron Hoxie. "These two teams have taken a certain approach to each other, and it always produces a quality environment. For me, our first half performance was enough to win the game. I felt like we were the dominate team and a goal was in the works. Unlucky on several occasions, unfortunate on others. However, In the 2nd half, they had all the impetus, largely due to my team selection, and partly due to their level, we just didn't have any balance. I've got to take responsibility for that. Obviously, the red card didn't help matters, but we were still on our heels and we shouldn't have been. In the end, I think it was a deserved point for both teams. I'm very proud of our response to the circumstances that were presented."
Hoxie added, "Finally, I just want to thank the campus tonight. YOU ALL were fantastic! I absolutely loved the banter, noise, enthusiasm, and intensity that these kids brought. Tonight...was a proper college environment. Well done ALL OF YOU! Next time we will bring you the victory."
The draw leaves the Tigers at 1-0-1 on the season. They will be back in action on Monday evening at 8:00 pm, making up the game with Bethany College that was postponed by weather last Saturday.
