Bad Decisions Leave Chapman in the Cold : Soccer: Panthers are dominated by top-ranked Methodist College, 3-0, in the Division III semifinals.

The Chapman men’s soccer team saw its run for a Division III championship end amid snow and 20-degree temperatures, falling to Methodist College, 3-0, in the semifinals Saturday at Cole Field.

The Monarchs, ranked No. 1 in the country, led, 1-0, at halftime and put the game away with two goals midway through the second half. Methodist (21-0) will face Williams today in the championship game.

“We talked all year about making bad decisions,” Chapman Coach Gregg Murphy said. “We made a couple of bad decisions in the field today, and it cost us goals.”

Methodist scored its first goal at 20:30 of the first half, when Kemal Kansu took a through ball past three Chapman defenders and forced goalkeeper Craig Bennett to commit early. Kansu shot into an open net to give Methodist the early lead. The Monarchs dominated play in the half, outshooting the Panthers, 12-3, and forcing Bennett to make eight saves.

“We came out and dictated the pace of the game,” Methodist Coach Alan Dawson said. “They gave us perhaps a little too much room to settle down and play.”

The Panthers (17-4-1) started strong in the second half, however, and pressed the attack deep in the Monarch end for several minutes. Gary Hurtarte had Chapman’s best scoring opportunity, but his shot sailed inches over the crossbar.

Twenty-two minutes into the half, Methodist’s scoring leader Michael Scobee netted his 18th goal of the season on a rebound in the box. Chapman’s hopes of coming back were all but dashed three minutes later when Kari Reynisson outran the Panther defense and chipped a shot over Bennett.

“We started putting on a lot of pressure, a lot of pressure, thinking we were going to get a goal. What we tried failed,” Chapman midfielder Eric Hurtarte said.

Methodist outshot Chapman, 20-13, for the game. Bennett finished with 12 saves.