Pilots Soccer Season Ends in National Tournament
Olathe, Kansas—The Men's Soccer team saw their season come to a close in the first round of the NAIA Men's Soccer National Tournament Thursday afternoon in 4-1 loss to William Carey. With the loss the Pilots end their season 14-4-3.
The first half was a match of possession with both teams playing a more direct approach and landing hard tackles in their respective defenses. In the first minute James Averies saved the Pilots on the goal line as the Crusaders were crashing towards the net. The Crusaders pressed the Pilots defense taking multiple shots, pushing Emmanuel Esquivel to pick up the saves. Averies stepped up to save the Pilots again in the 8th minute of the half, keeping the score tied. Scott Neil saw his first opportunity for the Pilots in the 16th minute, which the Crusaders goalkeeper was able to send away, but Gledi Doda was on the back side. The Crusader dense was able to block Doda's shot on the rebound and send the Pilots out to the corner. The Crusaders however opened the door for scoring with a goal in the 22nd minute. A Crusader open in the box found a ball out of the air and sent it just passed Esquivel. The Pilots refused to give up before the half's break and Alex Charles took a long shot that forced the Crusader goalkeeper to go into a full extension for the save. The Pilots would enter the half time break down 0-1. The Crusaders outshot the Pilots 14 to 7 in the first half, but the overall possession was about 50/50. Both teams were split on tackles and balls won out of the air.
The second half saw the Crusaders score right out of the gates finding the back of the net just 2 minutes into the half. The Pilots battled hard to try and get back, but the Crusaders continued to push on. The Pilots again conceded another goal after Esquivel made the first save, but a free ball was converted in the 59th minute bringing the score line to 0-3. The Pilots tried to rally back as they continued to press the Crusaders back line with multiple goal scoring opportunities. Gledi Doda scored the lone goal for the Pilots in the 69th minute of the match with his service on the corner. The ball hit the inside post of the goal and gave the Pilots a little bit of a ligt. However, not even a minute later the Crusaders were awarded a penalty kick and delivered the final blow to the Pilots. Though the score line showed differently, the stat lines appeared more equal with both teams taking 11 shots. Both goal keepers for the Crusaders collected a combined total of seven saves on eight shots on goal. The Pilots had eight corners compared to the Crusaders seven, but ultimately outshot 25 to 18.
Head Coach Phillip Bohn said, "Really tough to swallow this one. After such a good season with our team defensive organization being a strength, we just didn't have it today. Credit to Carey for really causing us problems. They played outstanding and made it tough. With the ball, I thought we were good and created so many good opportunities. The ball didn't bounce our way in front of goal, but that's soccer. To win in nationals you must have good individual performances and play well cumulatively. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be today, but that doesn't take anything away from this season as a whole. We had an outstanding season. I enjoyed this group of boys immensely and I'm really heartbroken for them to see it end. We know what it takes to navigate the RRAC and the need to elevate in national tournament. These are all excellent learning experiences that hopefully this team can lean on moving forward."
Man of the Match
Scott Neil was selected as the Man of the Match for his performance in the National Tournament game against William Carey. "I thought Scott again played very well. He's had an outstanding season and was our most dangerous player today. For that he's our Man of the Match," Bohn explained. Neil had three shots with two on goal against the William Carey Crusaders.
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