Michael Chamberlain was one of five Cavs to score against the Geoducks on Wednesday.
Cavs Stay Perfect at Home with 5-0 Win
STATS - Concordia vs. Evergreen State
PORTLAND, Ore.—The No. 12 Concordia men’s soccer team shared the wealth on Wednesday, beating Evergreen State 5-0 behind five different goal-scorers.
“The CU boys were committed to get a positive result tonight and showed that through all 90 minutes,” head coach Dan Birkey said. “Our team goal was to produce a postseason type performance tonight. It’s that time of year. We can’t be choosing when to be competitive. It has to be all-in at this point if we are to challenge for the conference title.”
A familiar figure started the scoring for Concordia (14-1-1, 10-1-1 CCC) as senior co-captain Facundo Dipascuale gave the match its first goal in the 32nd minute. Matt Caniglia started the play for the Cavs, winning back a ball that had been knocked out of the box following a corner. From there, Caniglia gave a soft touch to Ryan Candella who then flicked it over to Dipascuale. Now with the ball, Dipascuale caught Evergreen State’s goalkeeper out of position and tapped the ball up and over the keeper to the upper right corner of the net.
The Cavs didn’t have to wait long for another score either as sophomore Michael Chamberlain, playing in only his second match after an injury, put in Concordia’s second goal in the 34th minute. Chamberlain started the play, too, earning a free kick from about 30 yards out on the right side of the field. Dipascuale took the kick, sending a long, arching pass into the crowd in the box where Chamberlain laid out for it, heading it home from 5 yards.
Evergreen State (4-9-2, 3-7-2 CCC) nearly halved the lead before halftime, though, when the Geoducks caught the Cavalier defense off-guard leading to a breakaway for the team in the 39th minute. Fortunately for the Cavs, goalkeeper Cole Dahle came charging out, punching away one hard shot before another from Ramon Ramos went wide right.
“It was imperative that our backline kept their heads right and work hard to earn the shutout and Cole (Dahle) came up big in a couple pivotal points,” Birkey said.
The Geoducks then threatened again after the half in the 50th minute when Brice Boum sent a hard shot on the Concordia goal that Dahle had to flick over the crossbar. However, nothing came out of the ensuing corner kick and the score remained 2-0
Soon after the corner, Concordia picked up its own attack as CU’s Matt Eronemo opened a flurry of Concordia offense with a goal in the 53rd minute. Teammates Septi Danciu and Tanner Williams set up Eronemo with passes from the left to the right side of the field. Once with the ball, Eronemo rocketed a shot to left of the goalkeeper from 10 yards out.
Then, just five minutes later, the Cavs struck for the fourth time in the match. Williams started the play again, feeding senior co-captain Evan Denmark with a sliding pass across the 18-yard box. Denmark followed with a shot from 18 yards for a goal in his second-straight match.
Another five minutes later, Danciu closed out the match’s scoring with his 14th goal this season. Nate Boatright sent him the ball up the left side following a free kick from 22 yards out. Danciu then crossed the ball to the far post from 15 yards, giving the match its 5-0 final.
“It was the second half that I felt we showed loads of character,” Birkey said. “We were always dangerous and persistent in attacking play with Septi (Danciu), Willy (Tanner Williams) and Evan (Denmark) all mobile and smart while Facundo (Dipascuale) and Matt (Caniglia) dominated center midfield.”
Overall, both sides performed well for Concordia, leading to a 26-to-8 advantage in shots and a 12-to-5 advantage in shots on goal.
For Concordia, Scott Gross relieved Dahle in the 73rd minute, closing out the shutout with two saves after Dahle saved two himself. That gave Concordia its 10th shutout as a team. Meanwhile, Evergreen State goalkeeper Christian Pettit played the whole match, saving six shots.
Concordia now turns to Warner Pacific who they next face at home on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 4 p.m. The Knights beat Northwest 3-1 on Tuesday, which means the Cavs just need a tie or better against the Knights to clinch the No. 1 seed in the CCC tournament after the season.
Saturday will also be senior day for the Cavs, who will honor seniors Matt Caniglia, Evan Denmark and Facundo Dipascuale before the match.
Evergreen State also returns to action on Saturday as they travel to Northwest for a match at 3 p.m.