Concordia Opens Conference Season with Cascade Shutout

Concordia University Cavaliers
Jason Dormeyer, Sports Information Director
Concordia University, Portland
Men's Soccer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

BEAVERTON, Ore. - Concordia senior Joey Graham scored in the 5th minute and the Cavaliers never looked back en route to a 6-0 win against Cascade in the team's league opener.

With the win, No. 18-ranked Concordia moved to 4-3-1 on the season while Cascade dropped to 2-3-0.

"We created a diverse attack today and made good on several 'training ground' set pieces," Concordia head coach Dan Birkey said. "The guys were hungry to get the conference games underway and that just how they played today."

After Graham's opening scored, Tyler Doty connected for his first goal of the season by turning on a ball while in a scramble in front of the ne in the 31st minute.

Catching most of the players on the field off guard, Bryan Iotte fired quickly on a free kick from 22 yards out for the team's third score. Turner Bloom finished the CU scoring in the first half with his second goal of the season with just nine ticks left on the clock for the period to make it a 4-0 contest.

With a connecting pass from Scott Bernards, Tyler Camp drilled a low ball into the opposite corner of the net in the 43rd minute reached for an Iotte unleashed for his second of the day after receiving the ball from Camp in the 67th minute of action for the 6-0 finale.

"We had another solid performance from our backline," Birkey said. "The middies worked hard to get behind the ball and keep us compact. It was also good to see some bright play from guys that came in later in the game."

Garrett Staples and Scot Perkins combined for the win in net for the Cavs with Perkins stuffing one save to protect the shutout. Nic Martinez saved four shots in net for the Thunderbirds.

For the game, Concordia outshot Cascade 20-2 and held a 7-0 advantage in corner kick opportunities.

The Cavaliers return to action on Sept. 24 when it travels to Northwest University for a 7 p.m. match in Kirkland, Wash.