Late Central men’s soccer push spoiled by Loras
Central College
DUBUQUE —What appeared to be an easy victory for No. 13-ranked Loras College turned out to be anything but after a spirited late run by the Central College men’s soccer team.
Loras (8-1-1) appeared to be in command of the Iowa Conference opener with a 3-0 second-half lead and less than 14 minutes remaining, but had to hang on for a 3-2 win.
Dutch orward Mark Hentschel (senior, West Des Moines, Dowling Catholic HS) scored on a penalty kick in the 77th minute, after midfielder Dennis Forrest (senior, Danville, Ill.) was fouled in the box.
“Dennis Forrest made a great run through the middle,” coach Garry Laidlaw said.
Then in the 88th minute midfielder Forrest scored his second goal of the year with an assist from midfielder.
“He made a gorgeous header off a sublime cross by Mark Hentschel,” Laidlaw said.
Suddenly, the Dutch (2-8) were in position to tie and they dialed up the pressure in the final minutes.
“I thought we really pushed the game to them,” Laidaw said. “That’s why I’m so excited and encouraged right now. We may not have been expected to be much of a player this year, but we can have an impact on this conference race. The players are enthused and excited and those are intangibles that you look for as a coach.”
Loras broke on top just 7:15 into the game.
“I thought we actually competed very well in the first half,” Laidlaw said. “I was only disappointed in the first goal. We let a man run free in the box. Against this team, you have to challenge for every ball.”
In the second half, Loras added a goal on a penalty kick in the 46th minute, before picking up the third tally just 1:12 later.
“Unfortunately our heads were still hanging about the penalty kick, but that’s the goal that decided the game,” Laidlaw said. “We need to learn from that.”
The Duhawks outshot Central 7-0 in the first half, but 15-7 in the second, with an 8-3 lead in shots on goal. They had an 8-0 advantage on corner kicks. Dutch goalkeeper Austin Little (sophomore, Des Moines, Lincoln HS) made five saves.
But it was the second half that Laidlaw hopes will crank up Central’s performance level the rest of the season.
“We’ve struggled to score goals, but maybe today was a turning point,” he said.
“I’m extremely proud of the guys. They showed tremendous heart and team spirit. That’s the team spirit we’ve known we had all year but we showed it on the pitch today. We did very well adjusting to tough circumstances. That’s the attacking style we need to play.”
Laidlaw singled out Forrest.
“Dennis was fantastic the entire match today,” he said. “He did a great job of winning balls and clogging up the middle in the first half. We moved him up in the second half and he created the first goal and then scored the second. And Mark Hentschel scored the first goal and created the second. Chris Poesch (senior, Waverly, Waverly-Shell Rock HS) did a nice job up front and Owen Shawgo (sophomore, Nevada) again came in and gave us great minutes in back.
“But this game was about a team that showed we still have life and spirit. We’ve played an extremely tough schedule, and that’s obviously been a factor in our record. But I think that’s going to pay off.”
Central plays its league home opener Tuesday, taking on Coe College at 4 p.m. at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex field. The Kohawks took a 3-6 record into a match against Luther College Saturday evening. Central defeated Coe at Cedar Rapids last year, 3-1, and holds a 14-4 advantage in the all-time series.
“Our task now is to follow this game up with the same intensity,” Laidlaw said. “We have to play with that same kind of energy. We cannot afford to let down.”
