King College Falls to the Lions in Key Conference Matchup
September 29, 2007
Bryan College 2, King College 0
Bryan College came into Saturday's game at King College undefeated in the AAC Conference and they returned to campus Saturday night with their unbeaten record intact. The Lion's record now stands at 11-1 (AAC 4-0) on the season with their only blemish coming at the hands of nationally ranked University of Mobile (#11 NAIA) earlier this season. The Lions came into this important matchup after a home conference win versus Union College earlier this week.
Bryan College 2, King College 0
Bryan College came into Saturday's game at King College undefeated in the AAC Conference and they returned to campus Saturday night with their unbeaten record intact. The Lion's record now stands at 11-1 (AAC 4-0) on the season with their only blemish coming at the hands of nationally ranked University of Mobile (#11 NAIA) earlier this season. The Lions came into this important matchup after a home conference win versus Union College earlier this week.
The whistle blew to begin the match and it was soon evident that the Lions had come to the match focused and prepared to work hard for a result. In a physical match, where 8 yellow cards were issued, the Lions maintained their composure and work rate throughout. The first half was controlled by the Lions who caused problems with their defensive pressure in King's half of the field. Scott Davidson came close to scoring early when Andres Garcia crossed a perfect ball on to a running Davidson whose header barely cleared the crossbar. Halftime score: Bryan 0, King 0.
The Lions came out in the second half with confidence and the match settled down a bit. In the first 20 minutes, King pressed and created some opportunities that were swallowed up by goalkeeper Carlos Sanchez. Sanchez had a stellar game in goal for the Lions as he was very decisive coming off his line to grab King's services from the midfield. Sanchez, along with defensive players O'Kane, Wagley, McCown, Hays, and Carmichael, were keys to preserving a shutout. Senior Nate McCown was a dominant presence in the match defensively, particularly in the air. Twent-four minutes into the second half, Bryan's pressure up top paid off as Davidson and Mano Silva pressured the King defenders and a back pass to keeper Richard Masters was too strong for him to control. Davidson pounced on the mistake and finished the poacher's opportunity to give the Lion's the lead which they would not relinquish. Ten minutes later, sophomore Curt Hays threw the ball into the box from the right side which Mano Silva took with his back to goal, turned, and fired the ball low into the left hand side of the net sealing the victory for the Lions. As King pushed forward to try to equalize, the Lions had several more chances to widen the score but were unable to convert. The Lions outshot King 10-4 in this important conference win.
Coach Zensen was pleased with the performance, citing the importance of winning on the road this year as a key factor in the team being in the position that it is within the conference. "You must be able to win on the road to be a contender for a conference championship. That has been an area of great improvement for our squad this year."
The Lions are now 11-1 (4-0 AAC) and ranked #1 in the conference. The Lions will host Montreat College on Thursday, October 4th, at 7:30 pm, in a game with huge championship implications as both teams enter this game without a loss in the conference.