Dalton State Soccer: Roadrunners finish home slate with win

Published 8:00 pm Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Sometimes even an 80-minute game can come down to just a few seconds which decide the outcome.

That was true for Dalton State College soccer on Wednesday night as the Roadrunners scored two goals in just over two minutes midway through the second half to come away with a 2-0 victory over Brewton-Parker College. The Roadrunners (10-4-1, 3-2) have now secured a winning season in its inaugural season.

There are nine men’s soccer teams in the Southern States Athletic Conference and the top eight make the  conference tournament. However, the quarterfinals are hosted by the top four seeds. Dalton State is currently in third place after the victory over the Barons.

“Our big goal from the beginning of the season was to have a winning record,” Dalton State coach Kerem Daser said. “With this win I think we have secured that. Now our next goal will be hosting a conference tournament game. We need to win a few more games because that would be huge if we can make that happen for our fans.”

There was a good crowd Wednesday night as the bleachers overlooking Lakeshore Park were filled to capacity and spectators lined the outer fence down an entire sideline and one end of the field.

Those supporters were left wanting more in the first half as the Roadrunners had few scoring opportunities. The Barons did a good job of closing down on Dalton State’s attackers and did not allow a shot on goal in the first half in five attempts. Brewton-Parker had six shots, one of which was on goal, and the score was tied 0-0 at the half.

Play opened up a bit more in the second half as the Roadrunners played longer passes down the sidelines to the wings. Forward Tomide Adabale, midfielder Ibrahima Sissoko and midfielder Jorge Hurtado all consistently found lanes to pressure the goal. But it was set pieces that eventually allowed the Roadrunners to break through.

The first threatening chance came 53 minutes into play as forward Ramiro Guererro’s header from a free kick sailed just over the cross bar. Two minutes later Guererro gathered a corner kick at the top left corner of the penalty box and fired a shot to the bottom right corner, but a deflection sent it out for another corner kick. This time central defender Isael Gutierrez guided the ball into the net with a header on a kick taken by Sissoko to make the score 1-0.

“Isael has been our MVP this season,” Daser said. “He’s been a leader for us and it was great to see him score an amazing goal.”

Gutierrez, a Southeast Whitfield High School graduate, wasn’t done. Just two minutes later the Barons ran out on a breakaway, but a sliding tackle by Gutierrez broke up the play. He then quickly scrambled to his feet and launched a pass 50 yards to Adabale, which found him in stride perfectly on the edge of the penalty box. Adabale converted the opportunity and gave the Roadrunners a 2-0 lead.

“That’s just soccer,” Gutierrez said. “I got a burst from that goal and you just go back to playing and take advantage of your opportunities. I was so glad to get a score on the set piece. We have been working really hard on those and it was great to finally get a goal off of one.”

From there on the Roadrunner defense was consistently pressured by a desperate Brewton-Parker team, but they were up to the challenge. Dalton State allowed just two shots on goal, both of which were saved by goalkeeper Diego Gonzalez.

“This was an important match for us because we played a full match,” Daser said. “In our last two games we didn’t play the full 90 minutes and we lost both games.”

This match was the final scheduled home game for the Roadrunners, but Gutierrez knows how important hosting a postseason game can be. In his time at Southeast Whitfield he played in more than a dozen playoff games for the Raiders.

“It would mean a lot to get to host a game in the tournament,” Gutierrez said. “We have a lot of work left to do to get to that point but if we get there then we expect a big crowd to come out and support us and make life hard for the other team. It’s a lot easier to win a big game at home with a big crowd like we’ve had.”

Dalton State will go on the road for the final three games of the regular season. The Roadrunners first play Middle Georgia State University Saturday at 3 p.m.