Roos advance in Rochester

Semi-finals

By: David Cordill

Posted: 11/17/08

The third-seeded UMKC men's soccer team advanced to the Summit League Championship game with dramatic flair, escaping the conference tournament's first round with a 1-0 overtime victory over the second-seeded Western Illinois Leathernecks Friday afternoon in Rochester, Mich.

"Obviously, we're ecstatic," Kangaroos Head Coach Rick Benben said. "We understand our NCAA tournament begins today, so we'll enjoy this for the next couple of hours, or so."

The win set up a match with top-seeded Oakland University on Sunday. The winner advances to the NCAA College Cup tournament.

Sophomore goalkeeper Ken Cooper was a big factor in the match, notching a game-high nine saves on the day.

"He made some big saves for us," Benben said. "He was awesome."

The Kangaroos pressed early on but came up empty. Senior forward Brian Harris sent a couple of shots wide of the mark in the game's first 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, Western Illinois was doing its best to keep UMKC sophomore netminder Ken Cooper busy. Cooper registered four saves within the 28th minute and recorded five total for the first half.

At the same time, the Kangaroos were looking for some offensive spark. They had not put a ball towards the Leatherneck's net since the 9:13 mark. The situation was made a bit more delicate after junior midfielder Bryan Perez, the Roo's second leading scorer, received a yellow card near the end of the frame.

The teams went into the intermission deadlocked at 0-0, with Western Illinois having the advantage on chances, outshooting UMKC 6-2.

The Kangaroos opened up the second half with a high effort from Perez.

Senior defender Garret Guthrie sent an errant shot at the Leatherneck net in the 53rd minute and senior forward Caleb Mitchell's attempt was blocked in the 76th minute.

Western Illinois put together a pair of tries in the late going, but Jona Andrade's shot was captured by Cooper and Luke Greenwell's effort was stymied by a UMKC defender.

The Kangaroos had a chance in the 89th minute with their first shot on goal, but Harris's would- be game-winner found the mitts of Leatherneck goalkeeper Stephen Paterson instead.

With the scoreless stalemate still intact, the match went into extra periods, marking the sixth time this season the Roos have gone into additional frames.

Neither team scored in the first 10-minute extra session, although the Leathernecks sent three shots at Cooper, who notched his seventh save on Daryl Odom's attempt in the 93rd minute.

The stingy Cooper began the second overtime with his eighth snare of the match at the 103:13 mark. On the counter attack, Perez' ball went wide.

But he was on target the next time.

Taking a pass from sophomore midfielder John Bayron Sosa after a UMKC free kick, Perez planted a ball towards the left post for the golden goal at the 107:45 mark, his tenth of the season.

"It was a great college soccer game," Benben said. "Both teams stepped up and played really well. Either team could have won."

The sweet triumph was not without a dose of pain for the Kangaroos. Sophomore defender Chris Markey received 21 stitches after colliding with Western Illinois's Josh Greenwell near the end of the first half. Both players were going up for a head ball.

Benben said Markey "still looks pretty" but did not know if he would be available for Sunday's championship game.

dcordill@unews.com