Septi Danciu assisted on both Cavalier goals in Concordia's 2-1 win over The Master's College on Friday.
Concordia Soccer Victorious in Season Opener
BOX SCORE -
Concordia vs. The Master's College
PORTLAND, Ore.—The No. 16-ranked Concordia men’s soccer team opened its season with a 2-1 win over The Master’s College Mustangs on Friday.
Neither team found many chances on offense in the match, but the Cavaliers (1-0) capitalized better than the Mustangs on the offensive end. Concordia had only two shots on goal in the match, but that would prove to be all they needed.
Jared Brace scored the game-winner for the Cavs, connecting for a goal in the 52nd minute. Septi Danciu set up the play, winning a ball in the middle of the field, 20 yards out from goal.
From there, Danciu found Brace charging up the right side of the field. Once with the ball, Brace froze the goalie before sending a low shot into the right side of the net from 15-yards out.
"The Master's College was really determined tonight," said CU head coach Dan Birkey. "This was a good win to start our 2012 campaign."
The Mustangs continued to challenge after Brace’s goal made it 2-1, but CU goalkeeper Arne Niermann and the Cavalier defense kept them out of the goal.
The Mustangs had their best chance for an equalizer in the 80th minute when Austin Rochow found room for a shot on the left side of the Concordia defense. Rochow’s play drew Niermann out of the Cavalier goal, but the freshman goalkeeper made an athletic diving save on a hard shot from Rochow to maintain the Cavs’ advantage.
The Mustangs still threatened with two more shots and two corners in the final 10 minutes of the match, but the Cavs held on for the win.
Earlier, Concordia’s Michael Chamberlain opened the scoring with a goal in the ninth minute. Danciu started the play once again, winning a ball off of a Mustangs defender on the left side of the field.
Once with the ball, Danciu pushed it deep into the left side of the box before sending a cross to Chamberlain in the middle. Danciu’s play up the left side drew the Mustangs goalkeeper out to the left, leaving an open goal for Chamberlain to finish the play.
Chamberlain’s goal put the Cavs on top early, but the Mustangs found an equalizer in the 27th minute. Kevin Scheunemann scored the goal for the Mustangs after the Cavalier defense failed to clear the ball out of the box. Scheunemann’s goal still required a good deal of touch though, as he stood on the outside of a crowd at the top of the penalty box. Despite the crowd, Scheunemann found a crease in the defense with a hard shot to the upper right corner of the goal.
Scheunemann’s goal shifted the momentum to the Mustangs, which they kept until Brace’s goal in the early part of the second half.
"I felt The Master's College really seized the momentum in the latter part of the first half as they connected on passes and increased their movement," said Birkey.
Overall, the Mustangs out-shot the Cavs 12-6, including a 6-2 advantage in shots on goal.
The Cavs’ Niermann saved five of the six shots on goal against him, while playing all 90 minutes of the match. Niermann’s counterpart for the Mustangs, Andrew Bussell, also played all 90 minutes in goal, but did not face a shot on goal besides the two goals Concordia scored against him.
The Cavaliers return to action Monday, April 27 when they face Trinity Western at 4:30 p.m.