The Baker University men’s and women’s soccer teams each defeated the McPherson College Bulldogs Wednesday at Liston Stadium.
The No. 8-ranked women’s team recorded a 3-0 victory over the Bulldogs, which pushed the Wildcats’ winning streak to four games.
“Obviously when you have a 4-0 winning streak there is more pressure to keep winning,” sophomore goalkeeper Rachel Theobald said. “We have confidence from winning, and I think we just need to stay confident without getting cocky. We need to concentrate and keep our heads on straight to keep winning.”
Freshman Shalynn Eldredge-McMillan picked up her second goal of the season Wednesday after junior Ashley Sampson had a break-away play down the middle of the field and passed the ball off to record an assist and put Baker up 1-0 in the 24th minute.
Just a few minutes later, senior Jordan Dolbin took a big shot at the goal. The ball hit off the top goal post and bounced right back to the feet of teammate Cali Proctor, who sent the ball right back in for her first goal of the season to give Baker a 2-0 lead.
The third and final goal of the game came from sophomore Kayla Infanti as a pass from Dolbin allowed her to send the ball past McPherson goalkeeper Molly Whitwell.
Theobald earned her first shutout of the season, improving her team’s record to 5-1-1.
“It’s hard to play against a team that is as passive as McPherson was,” Theobald said. “The game was very different compared to our first five or six games when we were playing ranked teams which is something that we’re used to.”
The men’s soccer team improved its record to 2-3-2 after the fast-paced battle against the Bulldogs. The Wildcats came out on top by the final score of 3-1.
In the 12th minute of the game, midfielder Ethan Bauer placed the ball perfectly in front of the goal off of a free kick for senior Richard Klein to head into the goal, giving Baker an early lead.
Just before halftime, Andy Griffin connected on a shot to increase the Wildcats’ advantage to 2-0. Senior Sean McAlister recorded the assist for the goal.
McPherson’s Johnny Nuthell found the back of the net in the 71st minute for the Bulldogs’ lone goal of the night, cutting Baker’s lead to 2-1.
Griffin and McAlister connected again for the Wildcats to put the game away and give the McPherson men’s team its first loss of the season.
Brendan Allen won the game in the goal for Baker and recorded two saves on the night.
Both of the Baker soccer teams will travel Sunday to Salina to take on Kansas Wesleyan. The women will play at 5:30 p.m. and the men will start at 8 p.m.
