ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The Northwestern College men's soccer team's season continues to be special as the Raiders (7-1-1, 3-0 GPAC) down the Concordia Bulldogs (4-4-1, 2-1 GPAC) in the battle of unbeaten teams in Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) action from the NWC Soccer Complex.
The victory makes it the first 3-0 start in league play since 2015 when the Raiders started the league slate with a 6-0-1 record.
The Raiders found themselves on the attack most of the match as the Raiders put 13 shots to the Bulldogs' 8, with an 8-5 edge on shots on goal. Northwestern also had a whopping eleven corner kicks as Concordia only had one.
The first half consisted of Northwestern constantly putting pressure on the Bulldogs' back line as the Raiders got off seven shots, and four of them being saved by the Concordia keeper.
The match continued to intensify in the second half as both sides looked to put a goal on the board. The Raiders tallied eight of their eleven corner kicks in the second half. In the 65
th minute,
Niklas Fitter (Fr., Sankt Augustin, Germany/Rhein Sieg Gymnasium) nets his second goal of the season as it would prove to be the game-winning goal to lift Northwestern over Concordia. Freshmen
Bailey Baccam (Hull, Iowa/Western Christian) and
Stan van den Beld (Voorhout, Netherlands/Rijnlands Lyceum Sassenheim) were credited with the double-assist on the goal.
As the match progressed, the two undefeated GPAC squads played aggressively as 26 fouls were whistled on the match, including six yellow cards being awarded, three to each squad.
Reigning national defensive player of the week,
Ezekiel Foltz (Jr., Sioux Center, Iowa/Sioux Center) tallied five saves in the match. He recorded his fifth shutout in goal for the Raiders this season, including his second in GPAC play.
Up Next: The Raiders will hit the road as GPAC play continues on Wednesday night as they travel to Yankton, S.D. for a showdown with the Mount Marty Lancers (3-2-1, 1-1 GPAC) with a 6:30 kickoff on the campus of Mount Marty University.
