Central posts men’s soccer shutout at Wartburg
Central Dutch Athletics
WAVERLY—A resilient Central College men’s soccer team rebounded from a string of disappointments to notch a significant 1-0 victory at Wartburg College Saturday.
The Dutch (4-6 overall, 1-1 American Rivers Conference) were 0-4 in one-goal decisions, including three overtime setbacks, heading into Saturday.
Forward Miguel Pina (senior, Chicago, Ill., William H. Taft HS) recorded his fifth goal on a penalty kick in the 25th minute for the game’s only score.
The difference was evident early, coach Garry Laidlaw said.
“I was really happy with the way we started the game,” he said. “We were disappointed in our first half in our last match. We made a point of coming out and starting the game better and I thought we did that.”
The lead was precarious. Wartburg (5-5 overall, 1-1 conference) outshot Central, 13-11.
“In the second half, we knew Wartburg would make a push,” Laidlaw said. “We had to dig in and do the hard work on defense.
“It was a typical conference match. It seems like the margins are so narrow.”
Sal Salado-Herrera (sophomore, Minneapolis, Minn., Park Central HS) posted his fifth shutout, making six saves.
“I was really happy to see him come up big,” Laidlaw said.
Central had others shine as well.
“I thought Josh Phillips (senior, Morton, Ill.) was excellent in the midfield,” Laidlaw said. “And Tony Cervelli (freshman, Plainfield, Ill., South HS) up top gave us some really hard-working tough minutes.”
Laidlaw said his players remained confident despite the early season misfortune.
“We maintained the feeling that we’ve got a good side,” he said. “We just needed a positive result like this to turn things around.”
The Dutch return home for a Wednesday league women’s-men’s twinbill with Coe College. The men’s game kicks off at 3 p.m. at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex field. Coe was off Saturday and carries a 0-7-1 overall record with a 0-1 league mark. Central posted a 5-0 shutout of the Kohawks at Cedar Rapids last year.
