DE PERE, Wis. – On Wednesday, the Concordia University Wisconsin men's soccer team returned to the win column with a 3-1 victory over the Green Knights of St. Norbert College. This win marked the Falcons' second consecutive road conference win, improving their overall record to 2-5-2 and 2-3-0 in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play.
The Falcons struck first, with senior Alishan Sharipov (Krasnodar, Russia) taking the match's opening shot in the 20th minute. Just 30 seconds later, the Green Knights charged down the field, only to be thwarted by junior goalkeeper Jeremy Munoz (Milwaukee, Wis.), who made the save.
CUW maintained pressure on the St. Norbert defense, earning a corner kick in the 27th minute, though they could not convert. The first half ended in a 0-0 stalemate, with Munoz recording two saves while the Green Knights outshot the Blue and White 4-1.
In the early moments of the second half, Munoz added to his tally by stopping a shot from SNC's David Vegas in the 50th minute. Concordia quickly responded with a shot on goal from Vladimir Campos (Milwaukee, Wis.), which the Green Knights' goalkeeper saved.
In the 72nd minute, freshman Harris Burgos (Milwaukee, Wis.) headed the ball on target from just 10 yards out, but SNC's Ryan Fleming held firm with another save.
However, in the 73rd minute, Sharipov drew a foul nearly 25 yards from the goal. On the ensuing free kick, junior Carson Kelly (Fond Du Lac, Wis.) slipped a shot around the four-man wall, striking the inside of the right post and bouncing into the left side of the net to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead.
Building on their momentum, CUW extended their advantage in the 80th minute as sophomore Brandon Marquez (Vernon Hills, Ill.) fed Sharipov a pass as he was surrounded by defenders. Sharipov then skillfully maneuvered his way through traffic before unleashing a stunning shot from 20 yards out that found the top of the goal, pushing the lead to 2-0 with just 10 minutes remaining.
Determined to stay in the match, the Green Knights quickly responded, scoring at the 82:04 mark to cut CUW's lead.
However, the Falcons sealed their victory as they did not allow another shot on goal for the rest of the match and eventually put the contest away with a goal with just 71 seconds before the final whistle. A give-and-go between Carson Kelly and Alishan Sharipov resulted in a sliding finish from Sharipov inside the 18, following a perfectly placed pass from Kelly, to secure a 3-1 lead.
In this win, Alishan Sharipov led all players with six shots and netted his first brace of the season.
Meanwhile, Munoz recorded five saves, and the defensive trio of freshman Elias Ramon (Huntley, Ill.), senior Sam Butterfield (St. Louis, Mo.), and freshman Kyle Paler (Algonquin, Ill.) played a full 90 minutes.
The Falcons will aim for their third straight win on Saturday as they host the formidable Scarlet Hawks of Illinois Tech.
