McPherson, Kan.— Van Der Zee broke a scoreless tie late in the first half, and the Bulldogs added two second-half goals to defeat the Spires 3-0 in KCAC action this afternoon. The loss moved the Spires to 2-4-2 overall and 2-2-0 in conference play, while McPherson improved to 4-3-1 and 3-1-0.

USM created two early chances and forced McPherson goalkeeper Marchal into action twice during the opening 10 minutes. Luis Rincon put the Spires' first shot on goal at 7:13, and Rylan Nowak tested Marchal again at 9:37. Marchal stopped both attempts, and the match remained scoreless until Van Der Zee struck at 42:41. Powrie and Garcia assisted on the goal, which sent the Bulldogs into halftime with a 1-0 lead.

Van Wyck doubled the advantage at 54:00, finishing a chance created by Rendon. Nowak continued to lead the USM attack and placed another shot on frame at 65:13, but Marchal made his third save to preserve the shutout. Van Wyck then converted a penalty kick at 68:05 for his second goal of the match and McPherson's final score.

Nowak paced the Spires with three shots, including two on goal. The forward sent the Spires next attempt high at 71:35. Henry Ibarguen produced the team's final shot at 83:01, also missing high. Rincon finished with one shot on goal as the Spires totaled five shots, three on target and two corner kicks.

Xavier Ezell played all 90 minutes in goal and made six saves while facing nine shots on target. The Bulldogs finished with a 17-5 advantage in total shots and a 9-3 edge in shots on goal, along with five corner kicks. Marchal stopped all three USM attempts on target to complete the shutout as the Spires left McPherson with their conference record even through four matches.

Coming Up ...

The Spires will continue on the road as they travel to Wichita, Kansas to take on the Friends University Falcons this coming Wednesday, September 30th. Kick-off is set for 8 p.m. at Adair-Austin Stadium.