(November
4, 2008 - Ann Arbor, Mich.) - The Concordia men's soccer team
went into their final game of the season looking for their first conference victory
and third overall win of the year. The
much improved Cardinals will have to wait until next year for that elusive WHAC
win, as they fell to visiting Indiana Tech 2-1.
The Cardinals
(0-10-2, 2-10-3) fell behind early in the game on a successful header by Indiana
Tech's Chris Albers that found the top left corner of the net just two minutes
into the contest. The assist came off a
corner kick by teammate Tom Pichersgill.
The
Warrior's lead would be short-lived as Concordia would step up the offensive
pressure and eventually tie the game on a Yonathan Zeleke (Fr. - Lansing, Mich)
goal that was set up by Ali Badra (So. - Niamey,
Niger). The score at the 8:49 mark would be the
freshman's third and final of the season.
The home
team stayed aggressive through the rest of the first half but could not take
advantage of a few quality scoring chances.
The best opportunity came with 11 minutes to go, when Badra failed to
take advantage of a keeper give-away and fired a shot high and wide. The game would enter the intermission tied at
one.
With both
teams pressing to score the go-ahead goal, the keepers faced twice the amount
of shots in the second half as compared to the opening half. Indiana Tech (4-8,
8-8-2) had two solid scoring chances halfway through the second half, but they
would be turned away by Concordia's goalkeeper Brian Kressbach. The junior from Clinton Township
came up with back-to-back saves to keep the game tied at one.
The
Warriors would eventually score the game winning goal with less than 12 minutes
to play on a Mark Baptist header that made its way past Kressbach to the back
of the net. The goal put an end to any hopes the Cardinals had of securing a
conference victory.
Even
thought the Cardinals would not finish the season with a conference win, the
team made significant strides towards becoming a team that can make a playoff
push next season. Having been outscored
9-66 a year ago, the young team played opponents much closer this season
decreasing the goal deficit to 10-35 in route to three ties and two wins.