Box Score
Sept. 11, 2013 - This afternoon's men's soccer match at Concordia Stadium brought together two soccer teams who came in putting up some good offensive numbers in the early going. The Concordia Cougars came in at 3-1 after a resounding 3-0 win at Ripon College this past Sunday. Meanwhile, the Prairie Fire of Knox College, also 3-1, came in on a three-game winning streak having outscored their opponents 18-0 in that span. As anticipated, the high-powered offenses made it an exciting match for the fans to watch, Unfortunately for the Cougar faithful, it was Knox prevailing on a goal in the first overtime to win by a 4-3 final.
Knox had the better of play in the early part of the first half. Their pressure paid off in the initial goal of the game in the 12th minute. Nathaniel Logie took a through ball from Yuta Saitoh and beat the defense down the middle to give the visitors the edge.
Concordia soon recovered from the early strike and drew even 10 minutes later. DeAndre McLaurin (Joliet, IL/Joliet West) received the ball in the middle just outside of the box. He took a couple of touches to his right and shot low to the left side of the net, just out of the reach of the keeper.
It took less than two minutes for the Cougars to find the back of the net again. Taylor Nehmer's (Milwaukee, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran) diagonal pass found Michael Amezcua (Cicero, IL/Morton East) outside the box on the left side. Amezcua took a settling touch and fired from 20 yards out. His shot curled beautifully just inside the far post for his first goal of the season and a Cougars' 2-1 lead. The half would end with that score despite Knox having an 8-6 edge in shots.
The temp of the game did not slow in the second half. Nine minutes in, Logie recorded his second of the match to tie the game. However, the tie lasted only 38 seconds as the Cougars earned a quick corner kick after play restarted. The corner was headed out of the box but landed at the feet of Amezcua. The sophomore midfielder's low rocket slipped through a maze of players and past the keeper, giving Concordia the lead again at 3-2.
Following Amezcua's goal, Knox began to press the attack even further, resulting in a big advantage of shots down the stretch. Roberto Aragon (Cicero, IL/Morton East) made seven saves on the day, and two of them were at point-blank range to deny the visitors. Finally, the Prairie Fire's persistence paid off in a tying goal in the 76th minute. Max Gatyas' corner kick sailed to Saitoh at the far post, and he buried the cross into the net to produce the third and final tie of the game.
The two teams went into overtime, and Knox produced the game-winner 5:22 into the first extra session. A couple of one-touch passes between Abdulsalam Oganla and Logie finally sprung Oganla down the middle in a one-on-one versus Aragon. Oganla's low shot settled into the net, bringing a hard-fought battle to a disappointing close for the home crowd.
Concordia (3-2) will return to action on Sunday afternoon with a 1:00 home match against Illinois College. The match is part of the Cougars' first home soccer doubleheader of the year with the women's game to follow at 3:30.
