Penalty kick produces double-OT Central men’s soccer loss
Central College
MORRIS, MINN. — After a hard-fought loss on a steamy Friday afternoon, followed by a long trip that evening, the Central College men’s soccer team was in need of a good break Saturday but it was Minn.-Morris that came up a fortunate 1-0 winner in double overtime.
A scoreless tie was drawing near with 5:02 left in the second overtime when Central committed a foul in the box, giving the Cougars a penalty kick which Shingo Yamane drilled home.
That gave Minn.-Morris (1-1) an unlikely win as Central held a 24-6 shot advantage and, remarkably, the penalty kick was the Cougars’ only shot on goal.
“Just when I think I’ve seen it all,” said veteran coach Garry Laidlaw. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game where the goalkeeper doesn’t have to make a single save but loses the game. I’m at a bit of a loss for words.”
Dutch goalkeeper Austin Little (sophomore, Des Moines, Lincoln HS) and the Dutch defense pitched a shutout for nearly 105 minutes.
“We controlled a lot of the play,” Laidlaw said. “The only way they would win that game (was a play like that). But they made the most of the opportunity given to them.”
Central (0-2) showed a more aggressive offense than in Friday’s 2-0 setback against No. 20 Wis.-Oshkosh, although it was no more productive.
“We had better possession and a more creative attack,” Laidlaw said. “And we obviously had a lot of shots. But their goalkeeper was phenomenal. He stood on his head.”
Minn.-Morris keeper Cody Christ recorded nine saves, including a few that Laidlaw described as spectacular.
“I was pleased with some of the improvements in our attack but we still didn’t get the final ball,” Laidlaw said. “But we’ll continue to work hard and we’ll rebound as a team.”
The challenging back-to-back forced the Dutch to go to their bench and 21 players saw action.
“We had a lot of players get some valuable experience,” Laidlaw said.
The Dutch are home again Tuesday, meeting Monmouth (Ill.) at 5 p.m. at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex field. Central was a 2-1 winner at Monmouth last fall and holds a 10-5 series edge over the Scots, who return three of the top four scorers from last year’s 5-12-1 squad. Second-year coach Kooten Johnson brought in 14 new players for this fall.
Laidlaw is confident the Dutch will be ready.
“I think there were a lot of positives today,” he said. “I think this team sees the big picture and understands where we can go this season. We’ll push on.”
