Bulldogs, Tigers split on the pitch

McPherson College's Austin Bray (left) and Central Christian College's Mark Cox use their heads on this play Monday night.

by STEVE SELL, Sentinel Sports Editor

McPherson College men's soccer coach Doug Quint is happy that Ziya Gunay decided to play two sports this fall.

Gunay, a place-kicker for the Bulldog football team, scored the only goal Monday night in the intra-city showdown against Central Christian College before an enthusiastic crowd at renovated McPherson Stadium.

The 1-0 victory was the Bulldogs' first in three attempts since reviving soccer.

"I thought we played really well," Quint said. "From an organzational standpoint, we did a good job. Tyler Lawrence played sweeper and did a good job of keeping us organized."

It was the first loss for the Tigers after they had opened the season with two impressive wins by a combined score of 9-1.

"Credit definitely goes to Ziya for making a great offensive play," Central coach Matt Ball said. "I was proud of my team. They played hard all the way to the end. Paul Ferrell worked hard all game to keep Mac's center midfielder from doing too much damage. Hats off to Chris Biano, who played a great game as our sweeper. Matt Ferrell made some great saves."

Central hosts Southwestern Saturday.