Concordia-Concordia Tilt Ends in 2-2 Draw
BOX SCORE - Concordia (Ore.) vs. Concordia (Calif.)
PORTLAND, Ore.—With a game-tying goal in the 88th minute, the Concordia men’s soccer team earned a tie against the No. 7-ranked Concordia-Irvine Eagles on Friday.
Septi Danciu scored the game-tier for the Cavs (1-2-1) off of an assist from Tanner French. French earned the assist after heaving a throw into the box from deep up the right sideline. The Eagles’ goalkeeper punched the ball out to prevent a goal, but Danciu found it and rocketed a shot to the upper right corner of the net for the score.
Danciu’s score put a dramatic cap on a second-half comeback for the Cavs, as the Eagles took a 2-0 lead into halftime.
"The guys really put in a full day’s work today against a dangerous and mobile attacking team in CU-I,” said CU head coach Dan Birkey.” A good week of training and role acceptance was the difference today."
Neither team found much of a chance after Danciu’s goal as the match advanced to overtime.
Once in overtime, the Eagles (3-1-1) got the best look at a game-winner when William Prado beat a defender on the right side and fired a shot at the Cavalier goal. Prado’s ball appeared to be in, but CU goalkeeper Cole Dahle got just enough of a hand on it to push it left.
The Eagles got two more shots within a minute of Prado’s look, but still couldn’t get one past the Cavalier defense.
Overall, the Eagles outshot the Cavs 8-to-3 in the overtime periods, but the Cavs held on to secure the tie.
The Eagles really threatened early in the match, as the team aggressively attacked the Cavalier goal.
The Eagles’ Christian Ramirez opened the scoring in the match with a goal in the 6th minute. Ramirez created the play himself after he won the ball off a defender in the box. Once he had the ball, Ramirez punched a quick shot to the right corner of the goal, which found the net.
Concordia-Irvine then tacked on a goal when Prado created a play for himself in the 31st minute. Prado’s goal gave the Eagles the 2-0 lead they’d take into halftime.
Meanwhile, despite the scoreboard being against them, the Cavaliers still created many chances of their own in the first half. Concordia had eight shots on goal in the first period and earned five corners.
Those first-half chances would turn into scores in the second half too, as the team kept up its attack.
The Cavaliers first broke through in the 68th minute when Patrick Allred scored to make it 2-1. Gerritt Hamann created the chance for Allred as Hamann fired a shot from the top of the box that bounced off of an Eagles defender. Allred fielded that bounce immediately and quickly fired off a second shot, which found the net.
Allred’s goal helped fuel the Cavs’ second-half effort, which eventually led to Danciu’s goal in the 88th minute.
The tie broke a two-match losing streak for the Cavs, as the team has traversed a tough non-conference schedule.
"We have been through a challenging stretch with mature, organized and talented teams,” said Birkey. “The team wanted some reward in this contest and faced with a two-goal deficit at half their response was telling.
“They committed to defense and created numerous threats in the counter attack. Allred and Septi gave us two smart goals."
The tie against the Eagles also gives the Cavs momentum heading into its conference schedule, which begins Tuesday, Sept. 11 with a match against Corban.
“This draw was a big confidence and momentum boost heading into our CCC campaign,” said Birkey. “We are getting better, gaining understanding of each other and finding reasons to compete. We have work to do and the guys are committed."
Kickoff for the match against Corban will be 6 p.m.