Concordia Shuts Out Willamette in Men's Soccer Exhibition

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Concordia University scored two goals in the first half and added a goal in the closing minutes of the second half, as the Cavaliers shut out Willamette University, 3-0, in an exhibition game for both teams on Friday, Aug. 25 at Tuominen Yard. Concordia competes in NCAA Division II and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC), while Willamette is a member of NCAA Division III and the Northwest Conference.

Willamette will play one more exhibition game on Monday, Aug. 28 against Evergreen State College (Wash.) at Sparks Field starting at 7 p.m. (PDT). The Bearcats are set to open the regular season at Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.) on Saturday, Sept. 1 at 7:30 p.m.

The Cavaliers scored their first goal just 6:30 into the game. Reggie Reyes earned the goal on a shot form 15 yards into the top left corner of the net. Willamette countered by taking five of the next seven shots, including four that required saves by Concordia goalkeeper Grant Alcorn. Five different Bearcats took shots during the stretch of strong play, but Alcorn kept WU off the scoreboard.

Paul Seydel increased Concordia's lead to 2-0 on a goal at the 21:44 mark. He shot from 15 yards directly in front of the goal. Ryan Pfeifer registered an assist on the play. The Cavaliers remained in front by two goals at halftime, although the Bearcats held a 12-10 advantage in total shots and a 5-4 edge in shots on goal.

In the second half, WU outshot CU by a 9-6 margin to finish with a 21-16 lead in total shots. Concordia gained a 4-1 margin in shots on target over the final 45 minutes for an 8-6 advantage in shots on goal during the game.

With less than two minutes remaining, Matthew Cunningham of Concordia ended the scoring with a goal at 88:10. He was near the goal when he shot following a cross from Reyes.

Alcorn recorded five saves for the Cavaliers in 79:52 of action. Benoit Bouillant completed the game in goal for Concordia. Marco Gonzalez-Yanez (Jr., GK, Portland, OR/Central Catholic HS/U. of Portland) played all 90 minutes for the Bearcats and provided WU with four saves. Each team also had one shot cleared near the goal line by a defender.

Lewis Coates of Concordia led all players with five total shots. He had two shots on goal. For Willamette, Nicholas Ballenger (So., F, Salem, OR/West Salem HS) took four shots, including two shots on goal. Maxwell McKee (Jr., M, Coronado, CA/Coronado HS) placed two of his three shots on target for the Bearcats.