Kalamazoo holds off second-half rally from Bandits

(Lexington, Ky.)- Chalk one up to experience for the Kalamazoo Kingdom. That was the feeling from Bluegrass Bandits’ soccer coach Rob Miller, following his team’s 6-4 setback to Kalamazoo on Saturday night at Lexington Catholic High School.

While the Bandits (1-1) just opened the PDL season last week, the Kingdom (3-1) had already played five matches (two were Open Cup Qualifiers and do not count in PDL conference standings), and the experience showed in the first half. Kalamazoo forwards pelted Bandits’ goalkeeper Derek Orf with shots from all angles and scored three times before halftime.

First half Kalamazoo goals came from midfielder David Prall, who scored his fourth of the season and now leads the Kingdom in scoring, Ryan Trout, who took advantage of a defensive breakdown by the Bandits, and Ryan Seymour on an assist from Steven Totten with 7:16 left.

Despite the 3-0 halftime deficit, the Bandits came out with new fire in the second. Lexington’s Sean Mondelli scored the first of his two second-half goals with just five minutes off the clock.

Kalamazoo quickly countered when Totten and Seymour switched roles at the 33:44 mark. This time, Totten got the goal on the great assist from Seymour.

However, Mondelli brought the crowd to its feet less than a minute later. Taking advantage of a defensive miscue by the Kingdom, Mondelli pounced on a free ball, dribbled a few times, and launched a blistering shot from 25 yards away that beat Kalamazoo goalkeeper Bradley King to the lower left side. The goal cut the Kingdom lead in half at 4-2.

Describing Mondelli’s shot, Bandits’ Coach Miller said, "It was brilliant."

Riding a wave of momentum, the Bandits trimmed the deficit down to one at 4-3 when Scott Deopere (Wisconsin-Oshkosh) got loose up the left sideline and crossed a great ball to a wide-open Justin Sanders (Davidson) at the far post.

However, Kalamazoo answered every challenge the Bandits threw in its direction. The Kingdom again surged to a two-goal lead, 5-3, with 23:36 remaining. Seymour got his second goal of the game when he headed a ball by Orf on an assist from Leonard Marshall.

Kalamazoo added one more goal with 6:45 left. Forward Carlos Calderon struck a hard shot from the top of the 18-yard box, surprising keeper Orf up high. For the Bandits, former Lexington Catholic player Buddy Schneider scored his third goal of the season with 4:18 remaining on a great assist from Deopere.

Coach Miller said, "I think experience was a big factor tonight. They had played five matches before tonight, and we’re still trying to find some chemistry. I thought we dominated the second half. I really feel like we can explode at any time offensively. I’m not worried about us scoring goals. I’m worried about us defending them. We don’t have a true defensive midfielder. I was real proud of the team for coming back tonight, though."

The Bandits will head out on a six-game road trip, spanning the next three weeks. Miller’s squad will play at Indiana (June 2), at Kalamazoo (June 3), at West Michigan (June 9), at Mid Michigan (June 10), and at Alabama twice (June 17-18), before returning home to play Indiana on Saturday, June 24, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Lexington Catholic High School.

KALAMAZOO AT BLUEGRASS BANDITS SCORE BOX:

Kalamazoo Kingdom 3 3- 6
Bluegrass Bandits 0 4- 4
Goals: KK (1^st-41:50) David Prall; KK (1^st-31:51) Ryan Trout; KK (1^st-7:16) Ryan Seymour (Assist-Steven Totten); BB (2^nd-39:13) Sean Mondelli; KK (2^nd-33:44) Totten (assist-Seymour); BB (2^nd-32:59) Mondelli; BB (2^nd-30:10) Justin Sanders (Assist-Scott Deopere); KK (2^nd-23:36) Seymour (Assist-Leonard Marshall); KK (2^nd-6:45) Carlos Calderon; BB (2^nd-4:18) Buddy Schneider (Assist-Deopere); Goalkeepers: (Kalamazoo) Bradley King, (Bandits) Derek Orf; Records: Kalamazoo 3-1, Bluegrass Bandits 1-1.