Dalton State soccer splits doubleheader with Bethel (VIDEO)

Published 7:00 pm Thursday, October 12, 2017

Dalton State College split a men’s and women’s home doubleheader against Bethel University on Thursday night with the women falling 4-1 and the men escaping with a 4-3 victory.

The No. 19 men capped off the night with a win after a back and fourth second half. The Roadrunners were down 1-0 in the first half, but a goal by Daniel Valenciano with under 4 minutes remaining in the half sent them into halftime with momentum and the score tied.

Dalton State (8-3, 1-2 Southern States Athletic Conference) struck quickly after the break, taking the lead on a header from senior Jordan Man off the assist by Taeylor Fisch. Minutes later, Man struck again as sophomore Santiago Moore took the ball near the goal line before sending a rocket toward the net as Man sent it past the goalkeeper.

“I’m not gonna lie, I don’t even remember the first goal,” Man said. “But the second goal, Santi did all the work on the right and he gave me a perfect pass. All I had to do was tap it in.”

Up 3-1, the Roadrunners had trouble putting the Wildcats away. Bethel’s Rebeiro Vincius netted a goal with 31 minutes remaining, but Dalton State came right back, scoring off the foot of Moore to push the lead back to two with 23 minutes left.

Bethel (9-3, 1-2) made one final push with a goal in the 70th minute and had three chances off free kicks in the waning minutes, but it was not enough.

“We always stay positive,” Man said. “We know we can beat any team. In previous games, little mistakes have caused us problems and it did again tonight, but we always find a way to win.”

Earlier in the evening, the Lady Roadrunners (6-4-1, 0-3) fell to Bethel after hanging with them early in the first half.

Bethel (10-2, 2-1) jumped out early with a goal from Melinda Sopka in the 25th minute and added another from Jodi Butler six minutes later.

Not being able to spring loose through much of the first half, Dalton State finally found the net when sophomore Keyle Snyder took the ball from midfield, taking a shot just out of reach of the goalie in the top-right corner to make it 2-1.

But the Lady Roadrunners couldn’t hold, allowing a goal with 1:22 remaining in the half.

“That third goal right before the half was tough on us,” men’s and women’s coach Kerem Daser said. “We should’ve finished the half 2-1, but credit the other team. They were ready for us.”

Bethel smothered the Lady Roadrunners in the second half, allowing just one shot. The Lady Wildcats added their final goal in 51st minute.

The Lady Roadrunners are limping to the finish. With two captains going down with ACL tears in the preseason and another player leaving Thursday’s game with a knee injury, Daser knows his team is running low on playmakers.

“It’s been a tough season,” Daser said. “I knew this would be a tough battle,”

The Roadrunners will play another doubleheader on Saturday against Martin Methodist College beginning at 4 p.m. at Lakeshore Park.