Concordia Edged by Returning Champs in Second Round of NAIA National Championships
BOX SCORE - #16 Concordia vs. #1 Lindsey Wilson
MONTGOMERY, Ala.—Facing a team with nine national championships in the past 19 years, No. 16-seeded Concordia University fell 2-1 against No. 1-seeded Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) in the second round of the NAIA National Championships on Monday night.
Concordia struck early in the match as Michael Chamberlain corralled a ball sent in by teammate Sam Carmichael in the 11th minute of play. Without hesitation, the junior forward delivered a swooping ball from 14 yards out and past LWC keeper Yuta Nomura for the 1-0 advantage.
The Cavaliers would go on to record a 7-to-5 gain in shot attempts in the first half and threatened to add to their score on several occasions with additional attempts by Chamberlain, Septi Danciu and Jordan Green.
With just 39 seconds remaining in the half and using one of its only three shots on goal at that point, the Blue Raiders managed to square the match as Eddy Campbell connected with Lebogang Moloto.
The Blue Raiders maintained their momentum coming out of the break with a go-ahead goal in their first attempt of the second half. Fresh off an assist to close out the opening period, Campbell returned to score off a feed from Albert Edwards at the 51:03 mark.
Not deterred, the Cavaliers continued its aggressive play down the stretch by routinely pushing the ball into the eight-yard box. Late subs Francisco Calderon and Eli Gaynor posted the team’s final two official attempts of the match with under five minutes remaining but were thwarted on any attempt for the equalizer.
Following a final Concordia corner kick, the Lindsey Wilson defense managed to clear the cross and wait out the final ticks of the clock where members of both teams immediately fell to the ground in exhaustion while searching for one last score.
With the eventual game-winning shot included, the Blue Raiders generated an 11-to-5 lead in total shots taken in the second half with CU goalkeeper Scott Gross collecting a six saves over the final 45 minutes. In all, Gross finished with eight saves, two off a career best tally.
Lindsey Wilson finished with a 16-to-12 lead in overall shots taken while the Cavs created five corner kicks in the contest compared to three for their counterpart.
Concordia, the Cascade Collegiate Conference champions, finished the year with a 16-4-2 overall record.
Riding a 10-match winning streak entering the match, Lindsey Wilson will move on to the quarterfinals of the national tournament where they will face the winner of Tuesday’s match between Hastings (Neb.) and Southern Poly (Ga.).