Wildcats Earn Third Straight Win with Four-Goal Outing Against the Bulldogs

BALDWIN CITY - After defeating Morningside, 4-1 in the final game of the Labor Day Classic on Monday, the Baker men's soccer team pulled off the same result against in-state foe McPherson on Saturday night as the Wildcats rolled to another four-goal performance to earn their third straight victory.

Forward Ian Waindim recorded his first hat trick as a Wildcat with a game-opening goal in the 28th minute, followed by a pair of second-half penalty kicks. Reilly Marlow-Jones scored the other goal for BU with a brilliant run in the 53rd minute.

The Wildcats outshot the Bulldogs, 19-7 with seven of BU's shots landing on target to keep the McPherson goalkeeper busy. With four corner kicks from their end, the Wildcats held the Bulldogs without a corner for the whole match.

Following a couple of McPherson yellow cards in the first half, the Wildcats played with a man-advantage for most of the match.

Waindim began his impressive night in the 28th minute after receiving an excellent pass from Akira Itadani, who caught Waindim on his run towards the box, and the junior forward was able to chip it over the goalie and off the post to put Baker up, 1-0.

Leading 1-0 at the half, it didn't take long for the Wildcats to break open the game in the second half with back-to-back goals coming just 60 seconds apart.

First, it was Marlow-Jones who put on a clinic with the ball to knife his way through the Bulldogs backline and slipped a shot through the legs of a defender to notch his third goal of the season.

Soon after the restart, Baker earned a penalty in the box and Waindim converted on his first PK of the season to make it a 3-0 lead for BU with over 35 minutes left to play.

McPherson responded quickly though with a goal in the 56th minute to make it a two-score game and keep the Wildcats on their toes for the rest of the match.

Waindim completed his hat trick with a second penalty in the final minute of play. Baker came into the match with just one PK on the year with Marlow-Jones finishing one in the first half at No. 23 Cumberlands in the second game of the season.

Originally from Bamenda, Cameroon, Waindim is in his first season at BU after transferring from Corban University where he played in 15 games and logged a total of 472 minutes for the Warriors in 2023.

For Marlow-Jones, he continued his streak of earning a point in every game this year with a goal in three of his past four matches to go along with his three assists on the season.

Winners of three straight matches, Baker will have its final tune-up before Heart play starts next weekend with a match at Ottawa scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.

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