Dutch done in by early goal in men’s soccer defeat

Central College

PELLA — Conceding an early goal forced the Central College men’s soccer team to play from behind nearly the entire game in a 2-0 loss against North Central College Saturday.

The game was just five minutes old when John Kissel of the Cardinals (2-6-1) tallied the game’s first goal. It is the second time this season the Dutch (5-3-0) have lost after giving up a goal in the first 10 minutes of a match.

North Central stretched its lead to the final margin of 2-0 on a penalty kick following a yellow card in the box.

“I’m extremely disappointed that we gifted them both of their goals today,” coach Garry Laidlaw said. “You can’t gift good teams like North Central goals and then try to play from behind.”

Offensively, Central outshot North Central by an 18-16 margin, but only five of those efforts by the Dutch were on frame. The corner kick numbers drastically slanted towards the Dutch who had 11 compared to two for the Cardinals

“I think we were the better team for large portions of that match,” Laidlaw said. “Not only do the statistics bear that out, I think the eye test proves it as well. Unfortunately, we didn’t win the statistic that matters most.”

Still without the services of two-time team MVP and starting defender Adelmo Marchiori IV (senior, Carlinville, Ill.) for the third game in a row, sophomore midfielder Joshua Phillips (Morton, Ill.) continues to step up in his absence. Phillips played the entirety of the first half and the vast majority of the second.

“We’re asking him to play a position that he is not as used to playing,” Laidlaw said. “He’s willing to do whatever we need him to do and he’s done some good things for us there.”

Hitting the road for the first time in nearly two weeks, the Dutch will face Monmouth College (Ill.) on Tuesday at 4 p.m.