Box Score PORTLAND, Ore. -  The NAIA No. 25 Concordia men's soccer team beat the Knights 2-0 on Saturday, keeping Cavs 6-0-0 in conference this season and 7-2-1 overall. Warner Pacific, meanwhile, dropped to 4-6-0 overall and 3-3-0 in the CCC after the loss.

The Cavaliers attacked well early in the match, as the team kept the ball in the attacking half of the field for long stretches of the early going. Concordia finally capitalized on its early aggression when Septi Danciu converted a penalty kick in the 24th minute that put the Cavs on the board. The Cavaliers earned the penalty kick after a Warner Pacific defender took down the Cavs' Sam Carmichael in the box.

The Knights responded well to the early goal, however, and got two shots on goal of their own in the next 10 minutes of the match. The Knights had a good look at a goal in the 33rd minute when the team played a ball to the top center of the box, right between Concordia goalkeeper Arne Niermann and Warner Pacific forward Almir Celebic. Both players sprinted toward the ball, but Celebic would reach the ball first, leaving him with a good look at a score with Niermann now out of position. Niermann quickly recovered, however, as the freshman made a nice slide tackle that dispossessed Celebic and cleared the ball comfortably away from the Cavalier goal.

The Knights kept up their aggressive attack after Niermann's big save, as they worked to find an equalizer. In addition, the Knights' Drew Bonifacio made a nice save on a header from the Cavs' Michael Chamberlain in the 66th minute to keep his team within one at 1-0. However, Chamberlain would quickly come back for the Cavs, as he finally broke through for a score in the 73rd minute to put the Cavs up 2-0. Chamberlain got the ball on the play after teammate Jared Brace had penetrated deep up the left side of the field. Brace made a short pass to Chamberlain on the near post from there, where Chamberlain put a quick touch on the ball that crossed in front of Bonifacio and curled just inside of the right post.

However, the Knights still wouldn't go away after the score, and had a couple of great chances late in the match when the Cavs gave them free kicks just outside of the box. The first such time came in the 76th minute when the Cavs' Niermann slid out of the box with the ball in tow. Niermann saved the ensuing shot, though the Cavs would again give the Knights the ball just outside the box in the 88th minute. Luckily for the Cavs, the Knights' ensuing shot once again missed the net and the Cavs melted the clock from there.

Overall, Concordia outshot the Knights 19-to-10, including a 7-to-3 advantage in shots on goal. Niermann finished with three saves in goal for the Cavs, while completing his third straight shutout. On the flip side, the Knights played Dorian Lair in goal in the first half, then switched to Bonifacio in the second. Both goalkeepers gave up a goal, though Bonifacio finished with three saves compared to just one for Lair.

Next up, Concordia travels to Oregon Tech for a match at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6. Warner Pacific also returns to action on the sixth, as the Knights travel to The College of Idaho for a match at 1 p.m. Both matches will complete the first run through the conference schedule for each team.

~Story courtesy of CU sports information~