Dutch prevail in close men’s soccer match
Central College
PELLA — The youthful Central College men’s soccer team took another step in its development Saturday, taking a low-scoring affair 1-0 over Principia College (Ill.).
Entering Saturday’s match, the Dutch (5-2-0) were third in all of Division III in goals scored with 23 already this year. The offense did not provide its usual fire power, but the Dutch got it done when it mattered.
“We managed the end of the game well,” coach Garry Laidlaw said. “Even though we didn’t put the ball in the net as much as we would have liked, I thought we showed some maturity at the end of the game. We did not take risks to get an extra goal and leave ourselves open to a counter attack. We made good decisions and saw the game out.”
There were several opportunities, but the only time the Dutch converted was in the 50th minute when forward Miguel Pina’s (sophomore, Chicago, Ill., Taft HS) shot attempt deflected off a defender.
“Ian Meentemeyer (freshman, Hartsburg, Mo., Southern Boone County HS) fed a nice through ball to Miguel,” Laidlaw said. “He may have caught a little bit of a break, but goal scorers like Miguel will take any one they can get.”
Starting in place of the injured Zach Butters (junior, West Des Moines, Valley HS) in the midfield, Laidlaw was impressed with the performance of Michael Anderson (freshman, Lakeville, Minn., Rosemount HS).
“I thought he came in and played very well,” he said. “He keeps getting better all the time and he’s giving us good minutes.”
Laidlaw also cited junior Andrew McMillan (Dunlap, Ill.) for his contributions.
“He did just about everything but score today,” he said. “He’s doing a lot of little things that don’t always show up on the score sheet.”
After a stretch of four games in eight days, the Dutch are off until next Saturday when they host North Central College (Ill.). Laidlaw thinks his team could use the break from game action.
“We have been playing more games than practices lately,” he said. “You do lose a little bit of sharpness without training sessions. We are certainly going to take advantage of the rest but we also have some work to do.”
