Zhividze leads Concordia to 3-2 win over No. 23 Rocky Mountain

9/1/2014 7:05:00 PM

PORTLAND, Ore.—With sophomore Timur Zhivedze contributing on all three first-half goals, for Concordia defeated No. 23-ranked Rocky Mountain 3-2 on Monday at Tuominen Yard.

Zhividze got the attack going in the 21st minute of action by inducing a yellow card from Rocky Mountain (1-4) goalkeeper Sean Flynn. Taking a long play-in by Quinn Sinser (Bellevue, Wash./Eastside Catholic H.S.), Zhivedze broke free from the Battlin' Bears' backline for a one-on-one with Flynn. Taking a couple of small touches Zhividze was brought down by Flynn inside the 18-yard box and immediately planted the awarded penalty kick into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.

Concordia (1-1) added to their tally in the 31st minute and again in the 36th minute as Zhividze played the role of distributor to Kevin Fischer (Stuttgart, Germany/Akademie für Kommunikation) and Tyler Hoiem (Hillsboro, Ore./Hillsboro H.S.) to give the Cavs a 3-0 advantage.

The Battlin' Bears got one goal back with a penalty kick of their own as Jack Clancy capitalized on a miscue by the Concordia defense in the 71st minute. Just three minutes later, Clancy brought Rocky Mountain back to within a goal by heading in a corner kick by teammate Mikey Wall.

Clancy, however, was dismissed from the game on the play, earning his second booking of the match due to taunting.

Rocky Mountain created several dangerous chances down the stretch in an attempt to tie the match, but were thwarted by the Cavaliers, who were now playing 11 versus 10.

Rocky Mountain lost a second field player in the 88th minute as Flynn was sent off after receiving his second yellow of the day, allowing Concordia to close out the contest for tits first win of the season.

"I thought it was a tale of two halves tonight," CU head coach Dan Birkey said. "The boys did a real good job getting out to an early lead in the first half, but we got complacent in the second half. We kept the pressure on early and stayed aggressive, but we didn't maintain that all the way through."

The Cavaliers outshot the visiting team 14-8 and generated a 6-4 edge in corner kicks. Sophomore goalkeeper Mitch McCaw (Calgary, Alberta/Central Memorial H.S.) nabbed his first collegiate win of his career, playing the full 90 minutes in between the post for CU.

On responding to the adversity in the second half, senior Quinn Sinser (Bellevue, Wash./Eastside Catholic H.S.) said, "I think we just had to concentrate as much as we could and get ourselves organized again. We still had the lead, but we just really needed to battle and fight to hold on to it."

Concordia returns to action next Sunday with the first game of a doubleheader against Concordia (Calif.). Opening kickoff against the Eagles is set for 4 p.m. at Tuominen Yard. The women's programs for the two Concordia university's will matchup at 7 p.m.