Mequon -
Bryce Bartelt corralled a rebound and pounded in his first
collegiate goal Sunday, which turned out to be the game-winner
in the Falcons' 2-1 NAC Tournament first round victory over
Aurora.
Concordia battled back from an early 1-0 deficit, with Kyle
Sytsma tallying the equalizer after Aurora got a goal in the first
ten minutes. Just before halftime, Enrique Alvarado sent in a cross
off the head of Tyler Harris that was batted out to Bartelt who
sent in the eventual winner.
The three combined goals at halftime equaled the total amount of
goals these two teams had scored against one another in each of
their last three meetings (all 1-0 decisions).
In the second half, Thomas Anderson made a couple of great saves
down the stretch to help allow the one goal lead to hold up.
The Falcons have now eliminated the Spartans from the NAC
Tourney twice since the league formed in 2006, and picked up some
revenge from a season-ending loss to Aurora a year ago. "I was
really impressed with our team," praised Tom Saleska. "There was a
degree of energy change after they scored that early goal and we
played our best soccer from that point on."
Concordia improved to 8-0-3 at Fitting Field and will now travel
to River Forest, Illinois, to battle Dominican in a NAC Tournament
Semifinal on Wednesday at 1pm.
