2008 Woodie Awards
Kangaroos drop heartbreaker in championship match
David Cordill
Issue date: 9/10/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
Eastern Illinois University's (EIU) lone tally in the 58th minute turned out to be the game winner as the Panthers handed the UMKC men's soccer team their first loss of the season, a 1-0 setback at Bourke Field on the campus of Rockhurst University.
The Sunday afternoon match up was the championship game of the UMKC/Brookside Mr. Goodcents Invitational tournament held over the weekend.
EIU's goal came early in the second half when UMKC junior goalkeeper Brandon Amaya bobbled a save attempt, giving Panther forward Brad Peters a clear shot at the net.
After a listless first half, the 3-1 Kangaroos forced the action for most of the second period and had several excellent chances as the match wore on. Even so, Head Coach Rick Benben was not impressed with the team's effort.
"I don't think we ever really played that well the whole day," Benben said. "Overall it really wasn't just one thing, we just never got going."
Benben was vocal about the officiating several times during the contest, complaining about missed calls and overall inconsistencies, but refused to blame the result on the referees.
"The referees had nothing to do with anything," BenBen said. "That's just natural - the whistle blows and if it doesn't go your way, you're upset."
Although they stepped up their game after the half and fired a few smart shots, second half opportunities bore no fruit for the Roos, either.
"We started playing the way we know how to play, knocking the ball from side to side and they couldn't mark us up anywhere," said sophomore defender John David Hernandez. "We just couldn't put it away."
The Roo's best chance came in the 74th minute off a John Bayron Sosa corner kick. Senior defender Josh White set up and sent a vicious header from inside the box but the ball somehow met opposing flesh, denying what looked to be a sure strike.
"I beat my man to the back post and I got good contact on it," White said. "I thought it was in but a guy headed it off of the line."
As time dwindled, it became clear late game heroics weren't in the script for the Kangaroos. UMKC senior forward Kyle Perkins missed high on a header in the 84th minute and junior forward Garret Guthrie's last-minute blast went wide for the soon-to-be vanquished squad.
Both the Kangaroos and the Panthers finished with five shots on goal for the match. EIU had 13 total shots in the game, while UMKC finished the contest with 10 of their own.
Sophomore forward Bryan Perez, along with teammates Guthrie and Hernandez were presented with all-tournament team honors following the match.
dcordill@unews.com
The Sunday afternoon match up was the championship game of the UMKC/Brookside Mr. Goodcents Invitational tournament held over the weekend.
EIU's goal came early in the second half when UMKC junior goalkeeper Brandon Amaya bobbled a save attempt, giving Panther forward Brad Peters a clear shot at the net.
After a listless first half, the 3-1 Kangaroos forced the action for most of the second period and had several excellent chances as the match wore on. Even so, Head Coach Rick Benben was not impressed with the team's effort.
"I don't think we ever really played that well the whole day," Benben said. "Overall it really wasn't just one thing, we just never got going."
Benben was vocal about the officiating several times during the contest, complaining about missed calls and overall inconsistencies, but refused to blame the result on the referees.
"The referees had nothing to do with anything," BenBen said. "That's just natural - the whistle blows and if it doesn't go your way, you're upset."
Although they stepped up their game after the half and fired a few smart shots, second half opportunities bore no fruit for the Roos, either.
"We started playing the way we know how to play, knocking the ball from side to side and they couldn't mark us up anywhere," said sophomore defender John David Hernandez. "We just couldn't put it away."
The Roo's best chance came in the 74th minute off a John Bayron Sosa corner kick. Senior defender Josh White set up and sent a vicious header from inside the box but the ball somehow met opposing flesh, denying what looked to be a sure strike.
"I beat my man to the back post and I got good contact on it," White said. "I thought it was in but a guy headed it off of the line."
As time dwindled, it became clear late game heroics weren't in the script for the Kangaroos. UMKC senior forward Kyle Perkins missed high on a header in the 84th minute and junior forward Garret Guthrie's last-minute blast went wide for the soon-to-be vanquished squad.
Both the Kangaroos and the Panthers finished with five shots on goal for the match. EIU had 13 total shots in the game, while UMKC finished the contest with 10 of their own.
Sophomore forward Bryan Perez, along with teammates Guthrie and Hernandez were presented with all-tournament team honors following the match.
dcordill@unews.com
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