OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University, the No. 1 seed in the NAIA men's soccer championships, cruised to a 6-1 victory over McPherson (Kan.) in its opening-round match Saturday at Stars Field.
Fourth-ranked OCU (18-2-1) faces host Fresno Pacific (Calif.) at 9 p.m. Oklahoma time Monday, Dec. 1 in the NAIA Championships in Fresno, Calif.
OCU struck first on Andy Taylor's header shot into the net 3:49 into the match. John Dill set Taylor up off a corner kick. Taylor, a senior from Liverpool, England, knocked in the Stars' second goal on a header at the 5:38 mark, again off Dill's assist. Dill assisted Taylor the second time off a free kick.
The Stars had a 21-8 advantage in shots. Goalkeeper Andy Fitzpatrick had two saves in 80 minutes of work for the Stars.
“It was a great effort, and a great way to start the national tournament with a win,” OCU assistant coach Billy Martin said. “It gives our guys confidence. Andy hadn't scored a lot this year. It was good to see him do that with his final matches with OCU coming up. They were great goals.”
Dill, a sophomore from Broken Arrow, Okla., booted in the Stars' third score, launching the ball from 40 yards out off a cross from Luke Garvey at 30:27 into the contest.
“It was a typical John Dill afternoon,” Martin said. “He's dangerous. He puts it on the money. As long as we have someone there to put it in, we're good.”
Alex Gang had OCU's fourth goal off assists from Damon Ellis and Stephen Sheffield. Gang nailed the ball from inside the penalty box at the 51:33 mark.
Ellis scored off a header for OCU's fifth goal. Brandon Hull provided the assist, throwing the ball in from the sideline for Ellis to score off at the 86:28 mark.
Masataka Ido had the Stars' sixth score on a diving header. Tyler Vaughn crossed the ball to Ido for the assist at 80:20.
Scott Jackson pounded the ball off the left goalpost in the 33rd minute, missing an opportunity to put OCU ahead 4-0.
McPherson got on the scoreboard on Jose Reyes' goal off Jose Rodriguez's assist at 75:15. Tyler Tank of McPherson headed the ball over the crossbar from inside the penalty box in the 35th minute.
For information on the NAIA Championships, go here.
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