Box Score | Season Stats
WICHITA FALLS, Texas - - The 8th-ranked Truman men's soccer team got goals from each of its top two scorers, but the Bulldogs came up one goal short in their quest to advance in the NCAA Div. II tournament, falling 3-2 at No. 2 Midwestern (Texas) State on Thursday evening.
The Bulldogs close the 2010 season with a 12-3-2 overall record, while MSU (17-0-2) moves on to face Colorado School of Mines on Sunday.
Midwestern got on the board in the 21st minute when Dean Lovegrove converted a penalty kick following a Bulldog handball in the box. The Mustangs then made it 2-0 with 11 minutes to play in the opening half, as Bryce Taylor headed in a Sam Broadbent cross.
But, Truman turned to its seniors in the second half, as the squad's leading goal scorer, Matt Kimball (Kirkwood, Mo., Kirkwood), got the 'Dogs on the board in the 53rd minute and cut the deficit to 2-1.
MSU, though, converted on one of its 12 corner kicks of the night just seven minutes later as Lovegrove hooked up with Tex McCullough for a header in the 61st.
However, once again, Truman refused to go away, as senior Dan Meagher (Chesterfield, Mo., SLU High) scored his eighth goal of the season with 2:52 to play. The assist came from fellow senior Bobby Larkin (St. Louis, Mo., Parkway), who handed out his NCAA-leading 17th assist on the goal.
It proved to be the last gasp, though, as Truman ran out of time in trying to force overtime, and Midwestern State held on for the 3-2 win.
MSU outshot the Bulldogs, 20-12, for the match despite the shots on goal being just an 8-7 advantage for the Mustangs. The teams combined for 18 corner kicks in the back-and-forth action and were relatively even in fouls with Truman being whistled nine times to MSU's seven.
The Bulldogs finished with 41 team goals, led by Kimball's 12. Eight different players scored two or more goals, while sophomore Tyler Knierim (Hartsburg, Mo., Southern Boone) posted six shutouts between the pipes and closed the year with a 0.93 goals-against average. Truman graduates six seniors (five regular starters) from this year's squad after reaching the NCAA postseason for the first time since 2005 and ninth time overall.
