Oct. 26, 2007

Scott's second-half goals lift Central

ST. PAUL, MINN.—Midfielder Blake Scott (senior, Norwalk) headed in a pair of second-half shots off corner kicks to fuel a Central College men’s soccer comeback for a 3-1 non-conference victory at Hamline University (Minn.) Friday.

Hamline (8-7-1) had spoiled Central’s season opener last year with a 2-1 decision at Pella but the Dutch returned the favor in the regular-season finale for both clubs Friday. At 14-4-1, Central is just two wins shy of the school’s season victories mark of 16 established in 2002. It’s only the third time in the program’s 15-year history that the team has recorded 14 wins.

It was another record-breaking day for senior forward Cody Stoermer (Coralville, Iowa City West HS). His second-half goal, his 18th, broke the school season scoring mark set by Kyle Halfpop in 2004. It also moved Stoermer to within two goals of the school career mark of 50 established by Nick Furlong (1996-99).

However the contest didn’t get off to a promising start. Hamline’s Drew Lukas put the Pipers on top just 8 minutes in.

“We fell asleep off a throw-in,” coach Garry Laidlaw said. “(Lukas) got in alone against the keeper and punished us.”

Central still trailed at intermission and finally knotted the score when Hamline received a red card 11 minutes into the second half. Stoermer converted on the penalty kick. Then with the Pipers a man down, the Dutch took quick advantage, with Scott’s goals in the 68th and 73rd minutes off assists from defender Daniel Hurd (freshman, West Des Moines, Valley HS) and Stoermer.

“I felt like we were playing well in the first half but we missed four decent chances,” Laidlaw said. “I think there was some head-scratching going on out on the field because we couldn’t score.

“But in the second half we came out and simply played really hard. We played with a lot of energy. Obviously I was pleased with that.”

The Dutch were dominant statistically, leading in shots 22-10 and corner kicks 9-6. Central goalkeeper Greg Foote (junior, Maple Grove, Minn.) made three saves.

Central has nailed down the No. 3 seed in the six-team Iowa Conference tournament, but the field won’t be set until the completion of league play Saturday. The Dutch will play host to a first-round game either Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon, with the winner advancing to the league semifinals/finals at Loras College in Dubuque Nov. 2-3. The tournament champ gets the conference’s automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament.

While the Dutch have never won the league tournament, Laidlaw said his club has the ability to contend and needs to believe that.

“We’ve shown a very good sign in the last two games in that we have shown the ability to come back after falling behind,” he said. “A lot of our success starts between the ears. When we win the battle of the mind, this will be a very good team.”