Box Score PELLA — A strike from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in the seventh minute forced the Central College men's soccer team to play from behind nearly all game in a 2-1 loss Saturday.
The loss was Central's third (8-3-1) in the last two weeks against a regionally ranked opponent. The Pioneers, No. 7 in the North Region, move to 9-2-1.
I thought we had an opportunity today against a really good regionally ranked team," coach
Garry Laidlaw said. "It's disappointing to miss out on that opportunity. I don't think we showed them our best or give them our best effort."
Central was outshot 15-12 and lost the corner kick battle 7-1.
"We were poor in all phases of the game and we got punished be being scored on," Laidlaw said. "We were sloppy defensively and just could never get anything going offensively in the first half."
The Dutch did get a late goal when
Miguel Pina (senior, Chicago, Ill., Taft HS) struck gold for the seventh time in 2017, putting an unassisted effort in the bottom right corner of the net past the outstretched arms of the keeper.
"That was classic Miguel," Laidlaw said. "He's such a good dribbler and effective when he runs at times like that. We put him in a different position midway through the second half and I think he felt more comfortable."
Seniors
Salvador Villanueva (midfielder, Morris, Ill.) and
Bryce Leonard (forward, Williamsville, Ill.) each had four shot attempts with each registering one shot on goal.
The other four members of Central's senior class were able to play with
Andrew McMillan (midfielder, Dunlap, Ill.) and
Seth Signs (midfielder, Grinnell) earning the start;
Trevor Ruiz (midfielder, Hudson) and
Josh Prokupek (forward, Bellevue, Neb., East HS) coming off the bench.
Zach Butters (senior, West Des Moines, Valley HS) and
Calvin Bill (senior, Hartsburg, Mo., Southern Boone County HS) were honored in senior day festivities. The pair were starters for Central last year but both had their seasons erased by injury.
The schedule gets no easier for the Dutch on Tuesday when they welcome the University of Dubuque to Pella for a conference match. The Spartans are 6-4-2 but have beaten a nationally-ranked team (No. 15 Loras) and tied another (No. 23 Wartburg)
"We may have to make some slight adjustments," Laidlaw said. "We've said the last couple of weeks that we are 90-95% of where we want to be as a team. We still may need to tweak a couple of things here or there. We have to be better on Tuesday."
