ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA— Suffering its first loss of the season, the Central College men's soccer team gave #23 Macalester College (Minn.) a challenge Tuesday in a 2-1 match.
           
The Dutch (3-1-2) were outshot by the Scots (5-1-2) by a 22-5 margin but four of the five shots for Central were on frame.
           
"We played a very good team tonight," coach Garry Laidlaw said. "I'm extremely pleased with the output the team gave. We made it tough on them.
           
"We're way more efficient with our shots on goal percentage this year. It's one of the biggest improvements we've made."
           
Dutch goalkeeper Ronan Murphy (junior, Des Moines, Roosevelt HS) made seven saves against his old team. Murphy played his first two seasons at Macalester.
           
"I thought he equipped himself very well tonight," Laidlaw said. "To go back against his former team, he handled himself well. They created a fair amount of chances against us."
           
Central's goal came in the final seconds of the first half as Lay Doe Htoo (freshman, Des Moines, North HS) buried an unassisted goal to send the teams into the halftime break knotted at 1-1.
           
"He took advantage of a defensive mix-up," Laidlaw said. "The ball fell to him at the top of the box after their defenders collided. He found the gap he needed to score and I'm delighted for him."
           
Macalester found a second goal five minutes into the second half and held on for the victory.
           
"We didn't quite create enough for the equalizer," Laidlaw said. "Their quality and depth showed in the second half."
           
Central starts the American Rivers Conference season Saturday night with a 7:30 p.m. affair against Simpson College in Indianola.