Northwestern holds on for 2-1 win over Concordia

Northwestern College held on for a 2-1 GPAC men’s soccer win over Concordia on Saturday evening in Orange City.  It was a key contest for both teams in terms of conference standings.  Northwestern improved to 11-6-1 overall (6-4 in GPAC), while Concordia dropped to 11-4-3 overall (5-3-2 in GPAC).  Concordia and Doane College ended the regular season with equal 5-3-2 marks in conference play. 

Mario Garcia opened the scoring for Northwestern College with a goal in the 12th minute.  Taylor Biggs picked up the assist for the Raiders.  Concordia quickly answered with an unassisted goal by Nathan Douglas (Winnipeg, Canada).  It was Douglas’ team-best 11th goal of the year.  In the 29th minute, however, Gabriel Goncalves scored to put the Raiders back on top.  Travis Sytsma delivered a corner kick for the Raiders, and Goncalves found the back of the net for the final score of 2-1. 

The Raiders held a slim 16-14 shot advantage in the win.  Northwestern had four corner kicks in the contest compared to just two for the Bulldogs.  Garcia had a team-high three shots for Northwestern.  Alex Plagge made three saves to earn the win.  Douglas had a match-high five shots for Concordia in a losing effort.  Chris Podlich (Brisbane, Australia) made five saves but was saddled with the loss. 

Concordia will await the announcement of the 2011 GPAC Tournament bracket.  The Bulldogs will open play in the GPAC Tournament on November 1.  The tournament brackets will be released yet this weekend, so fans are encouraged to check www.cune.edu/athletics for times and locations for Bulldog postseason soccer.