Photo by Jerry Montano
McPherson, Kan. – The Central Christian College men's soccer team picked up a very important three points on Saturday, shutting out the Southwestern Assemblies of God University Lions, at home on Senior Day.

Prior to the match, the Tigers took time to honor nine seniors, Riccardo Di Vincenzo, Edoardo Salmaso, Matthew Bohaty, Francisco Leite, Longinus Onyechuwku, Ayobami, Onifade, Drew Schrader, Hilario Garcia Defin, and Tyler Hoxie, who are finishing their Tiger Careers at the end of this season.

The SAGU men are a much improved side in 2023 than they were a year ago. Despite the improvement, the Tigers were the much faster, physical, and technically sound team on the pitch. From the opening whistle, the Tigers pressed in the midfield and offensive third, hoping to force a miscue from the Lions to which they could turn into a scoring opportunity.

The Tigers created numerous such opportunities throughout the course of the first half, but lacked a finishing touch until late in the half. In the 39^th minute, the Tigers were awarded a penalty kick. Marcho Cherchi (So. Fontaneto D'Agogna, Italy), served in an in-swinger with his left foot. Riccardo Di Vincenco (Sr. Trapani, Italy), ran near post, and flicked the ball with his head to the far post. Waiting at the far post was Johnny Rodriguez (Jr. Anaheim, Calif.), who finished off the shot with a diving header.

Leading 1-0 out of the halftime intermission, the Tigers broke the backs of the Lions less than two minutes into the second frame. Di Vincenzo hit a 60 yard laser down the right side of the field to Eduardo Calderon (Jr. Fort Worth, Texas). Calderon beat his man at the end line, dribbled into the 18 yard box then laid a ball off to Camilo Penafiel (So. Santiago, Chile), at the top of the 6 yard box. Penafiel beat the SAGU keeper with a shot to the far post to put the Tigers up two nil.

Five minutes later, the Tigers put the nail in the coffin. A SAGU turnover in the mid-field sent the Tigers on the attack again. Connor Rodgers (Fr. Midloathian, Texas), chipped a ball over the heads of the SAGU defense. Drew Schrader (Sr. McPherson, Kan.), who is the fastest guy on the pitch in most games, raced after the ball. He touched the ball past the keeper who was coming out to challenge, then sprinted past him. Schrader caught up with the ball about three yards from the end line and buried the ball in the back of the net with his left foot.

The Tigers went with Timothy Foster (So. Palm Coast, Fla.), in goal against the Lions. He played superbly in the second half against JBU on Tuesday, earning himself a chance to start against SAGU. He had another great outing, finishing with a pair of saves, and earning the first clean sheet of his career.

Coach Hoxie lauded the Tigers' play saying, "It is always nice to get a win, but it is sweeter when it is a team next to us at the table. Furthermore, it was comprehensive. I thought that the heat got to us a little bit in the first half because we were not sharp mentally which meant that there were spaces for them to play into. We also struggled to connect when we had time, and I think a lot of that was due to the conditions, it's natural. That being said, I thought that we caused them a lot of problems because they could not play through our press the majority of the time. While we did not directly score off of it, they were sped up and turned it over to us frequently. Once we got the first goal, it was only a matter of time before this thing got out of hand, because that was the spark that was needed to light the fire. The second goal was coming. The third was the final squeeze."
 
Hoxie concluded with "Congratulations to the seniors. They will have completed their time with us in a few short weeks. They've done well with their slice of time.  The college is proud of them. I'm proud of them. They've given their very best."
With the win, the Tigers are now 9-3-2 overall, and 4-3 in the SAC, putting them in a tie for 3^rd place in the conference standings with Southwestern Christian, who they will see next weekend. However, next up is a very important match on Tuesday against the USAO Drovers back at home. Kick-off is slated for 3:00 pm.