Depleted Dutch succumb to Monmouth in men’s soccer

Central College

PELLA — Two early goals by Monmouth College (Ill.) was too much for the depleted roster of the Central College men’s soccer to overcome as the Dutch fell 2-0 Wednesday.

It felt like déjà vu for coach Garry Laidlaw as he watched his team give up two early goals to the Scots (3-4), who were able to score on similar plays early in the first half.

“It’s been similar instances that have been getting us all season long,” he said. “Defending set pieces has been a problem for us and today again both goals came off headers on set pieces.”

The Dutch (3-6) battled back and changed the pace of the game in their favor, outshooting the Scots 11-4 in the second half, but it wasn’t enough.

“We really went at them in the second half,” Laidlaw said. “We pushed players forward and we took it to them. We weren’t quite as effective as we needed to be with that final ball in.”

In six of the team’s nine games this season, Central has conceded the first goal of the game to their opponents. Laidlaw believes that this has started to wear on his young team.

“It’s been a common theme where we get a few chances to go up early, we don’t finish them and then we concede a goal,” he said. “We end up fighting from behind too often. If we can just get that first goal and play from in front it changes the mindset.”

Three Dutch starters were held out of the match due to injury. Jeremy Dolder (senior, Iowa City West HS), a four-year starter in the defensive midfield missed his third game. Offensive sparkplug Miguel Pina (freshman, Chicago, Taft HS) was out for the second time and classmate Kiel Pederson (Arlington Heights, Ill., John Hersey HS) also was out.

“It’s affected the dynamic,” Laidlaw said. “Dolder is our vocal leader has been out so we are even quieter on the field. We’re also missing two of our most promising freshmen who have been starting. We’re really hoping we can get all three back as we start conference play.”

Attention now turns toward the conference season and the league opener on Saturday at Buena Vista, a team the Dutch have beaten in their last nine meetings. A win would give the Dutch three points in the team standings and also end the team’s losing streak.

“The history doesn’t matter,” Laidlaw said. “The records would indicate that we’re probably two similar teams right now and I expect it’s going to be a battle. At this stage, points are critical in any game, whether it’s one point or three points. We need to go up there and try to earn all three points and get our conference season kickstarted.”