The Cavaliers' Michael Chamberlain bookended the team's three goals, scoring in the 3rd and 68th minutes of the match against Northwest Christian on Saturday.
Early Goals Lead Cavs to 3-1 Victory over Beacons
BOX SCORE - Concordia vs. Northwest Christian
PORTLAND, Ore.—Scoring two goals in the first thirty minutes of its match against Northwest Christian on Saturday, the Concordia men’s soccer team cruised to a 3-1 victory over the Beacons at Tuominen Yard.
Concordia (3-2-1, 2-0-0 CCC) went up early in the match after forward Michael Chamberlain connected for a score in just the third minute. Tanner French delivered the ball to Chamberlain off a long throw-in from the right side. French’s throw-in found Chamberlain on the near post, where Chamberlain finished the play with a header from seven yards out.
French’s throw-ins have been a consistent tool for the Cavaliers this season, as his assist against the Beacons (2-4-0, 0-2-0 CCC) marked the second time the defender has recorded an assist on a throw-in this season.
Concordia wouldn’t score again until the 30th minute, but continued to keep heavy pressure on the Beacons’ goal in the interim. Concordia earned nine corner kicks between their two goals in the first half, and scored their second goal off their 10th corner of the match.
Gerritt Hamann finished the play for the Cavaliers, kicking a ball in from 10 yards out. Radcliffe McDougald sent Hamann the ball after taking the corner from the left and playing it to the far post.
The Beacons, meanwhile, settled down a bit after the second goal as they limited the Cavaliers’ chances over the middle third of the match.
However, Concordia struck again in the 68th minute, as Michael Chamberlain connected for his second goal of the match to put the Cavs up 3-0. Matt Eronemo fed Chamberlain the ball this time, just two and a half minutes after Eronemo had subbed into the match. Eronemo’s assist came off a cross from the deep left-side of the field, which Chamberlain finished with a shot from the middle of the box.
The Cavaliers’ third goal seemed to awaken something in the Beacons though, as NCU stepped up its own attack after Chamberlain’s second goal.
The Beacons’ charge paid off for the team in the 76th minute when Andrew Poe headed a ball into the Cavalier net to make it 3-1.
Poe’s ball came off a cross into the box on a free kick. A Concordia defender got his foot on the cross, but couldn’t clear it out, leaving Poe with an opportunity on the far post.
The Beacons did not seem content with just scoring one goal either, as their attack produced two more chances within two minutes of the team’s first score.
The best chance for a second goal came less than a minute after Poe’s goal when Isaiah Blake found room for a shot from the outer-left corner of the box. From there, Blake tried to sneak a ball into the near post. Blake’s ball found the post, however, and danced agonizingly parallel to the goal line without finding the net.
The Cavalier defense regrouped after that and closed out the victory for the team.
In goal, NCU’s Dusty Stephens and CU’s Arne Niermann both played all 90 minutes of the match, with Stephens recording three saves compared to two for Niermann.
Overall, the Cavaliers outshot the Beacons 16-to-11, though the Beacons outshot the Cavs 7-to-3 in the second half.
Individually, Chamberlain’s two goals gave him his third multiple-goal match of his Cavalier career, while Hamann’s score continued a streak of three-straight matches in which the midfielder has recorded a point for the Cavaliers.
Next up, the Cavaliers travel to Caldwell, Idaho for a road match against The College of Idaho at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 19. The Beacons will also return to action on the 19th when they travel to Northwest University for a match starting at 4 p.m.