Pina, Pederson deliver overtime soccer winner
Central Dutch Athletics
NAPERVILLE, ILLINOIS— For the second match in a row the Central College men’s soccer team went to overtime on the road, but this time secured a 2-1 win over North Central College courtesy of a corner kick conversion by junior striker Miguel Pina (Chicago, Ill., Taft HS) Tuesday.
Kiel Pederson (junior, Arlington Heights, Ill., John Hersey HS) served the corner kick that helped Central (7-1-0) record its seventh victory of the year. The Cardinals fell to 3-5-1. He was credited with the assist for his effort on the game’s final play, but nearly put it in the net himself.
“We had a corner on the right side and Kiel flicked it in,” coach Garry Laidalw said. “It went off the underside of the crossbar near the far post. It may have actually gone in and kicked back out, but Miguel made sure by putting in the rebound.”
Pederson also assisted on Central’s goal in regulation, a tally by midfielder Salvador Villanueva (senior ,Morris, Ill.) 28 minutes into the first half.
Freshman goalkeeper Salvador Salado-Herrera (Brooklyn Park, Minn. Park Center HS) had a performance to remember by making 12 saves, including three in overtime preserve the win.
“Salvador was immense today,” Laidlaw said. ”He had a number of really difficult saves to make. What he’s doing in his first year as a college player at this level, isn’t really surprising to us but ever so impressive.”
The Cardinals may have outshot the Dutch 26-11, but that discrepancy can be attributed to a difference in style of play.
“We had to dig in defensively at times,” Laidlaw said. “We had good possession, their style of play is more direct and they had more shot attempts.”
Laidlaw was pleased with how his team responded coming off a tough 3-2 overtime defeat at Simpson College on Saturday
“Today gives the team the belief that they can persevere and show grit under tough cirumstances,” Laiidlaw said. “To go on the road and put on the performance that we did means a lot to our guys. We’ve got to take that mindset into Saturday with the understanding that we’ve got another tremendous opponent coming up.”
Looking to even their Iowa Conference record at 1-1, Central will host Wartburg College on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. match.
