Against Warner Pacific on Saturday, senior Evan Denmark scored a goal in his third straight match.
Concordia Clinches CCC Regular-Season Title
STATS - Concordia vs. Warner Pacific
PORTLAND, Ore.—With fitting contributions from the three seniors honored before the match, the No. 12 Concordia men’s soccer team beat rival Warner Pacific 4-0 on Saturday.
With the win, Concordia (15-1-1, 11-1-1 CCC) also clinched their second-straight CCC regular season title as well as the No. 1 seed in the CCC tournament and will host the winner of the Northwest/Corban semifinal match for the conference title on Saturday, Nov. 12.
The focus Saturday, though, was foremost on sending seniors Matt Caniglia, Evan Denmark and Facundo Dipascuale out on a positive note. Those seniors made sure of it, too, as all of them recorded points in the match.
Dipascuale was the first senior to record points as his shot from the left goal line in the 16th minute bounced off Warner Pacific goalkeeper Drew Bonifacio and right to CU’s Tanner Williams on the right corner of the penalty box. From there, Williams capped the play with a goal, putting the Cavaliers up early.
Dipascuale then assisted again on the second goal, though Williams would start the play this time around. In the 34th minute, Williams, charging up the right side of the field, sent a long cross into the box that Dipascuale then headed over to Michael Chamberlain just a few yards away who followed with his trademark header from five yards out for a 2-0 CU lead.
That’s where the score would remain for a while, though Warner Pacific (8-5-3, 6-4-3 CCC) possessed the ball much more during that time, limiting the Cavalier attack. As a sign of the improved play, Warner Pacific and Concordia each had two shots a piece in the second half through the first 35 minutes, after Concordia held a 13-to-4 advantage in shots in the first.
However, the Knights still couldn’t put in a score and so the Concordia offense took advantage, tacking on another goal in the 83rd minute. This time, Caniglia posted the score, finishing the play after forward Septi Danciu passed it to him from the left-hand side.
After that, only Denmark remained without a point among the seniors. That wouldn’t last long, though, as the co-captain capped the match’s scoring with a goal in the 87th minute. Caniglia started the play this time, with a pass from the right-hand side to freshman Codi Woodcock in the middle of the field. Woodcock then sent a pass across the face of the goal to Denmark who punched in a shot from 10 yards out. While the goal gave Denmark his third score in as many matches on senior day, the pass from Woodcock also gave the freshman his first point as a Cavalier.
Overall, the Cavaliers posted across the board statistical wins as well, topping the Knights in shots (17-to-8), shots on goal (9-to-6) and corners (4-to-2).
In goal, Cole Dahle posted another shutout for Concordia, saving six shots in the process. Meanwhile, Warner Pacific goalkeeper Drew Bonifacio saved five shots in the losing effort.
Both teams now complete the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 5 when Concordia travels to Oregon Tech and Warner Pacific heads to The College of Idaho. After that match, Concordia will await the winner of the semifinal match between Northwest and Corban University that will be played on Tuesday, Nov. 8.