GEORGETOWN, TEXAS - Southwestern University Men's Soccer found a way to on Sunday afternoon in a backyard brawl with Concordia University, 1-0. The Pirates improve to 6-1 overall, winning five straight games and holding four straight teams to shutouts.
Southwestern and Concordia always marks a hard-fought match that has been decided by one goal in seven of the last eight meetings. The Pirates moved the all-time record against the Tornadoes to 8-2-1 as Southwestern pulled off the gutsy win.
The Pirates looked to finish the week with two wins and possibly vault themselves into the national top 25, which is released each Tuesday. The squad went back to their normal starting lineup as
Landon Guenther returned from a red card suspension. Both teams found close scoring chances right out of the gate, along with immediate intense play as
Brady Faulkner received a yellow on an aggressive tackle.
Ezra Cryer was fouled outside of the box for essential a short corner in the 25th minute.
Amar Singh found
Grey Richards in the box on a perfectly placed flicked header for the lone goal. Richards terrorized the defense on Sunday with multiple chances as the goal was his fourth of the season. The Pirates held the lead into halftime.
TJ Bass stepped up in the second half with a dominant performance in the air and on Tornado shots. The sophomore registered five saves and never hesitated in the air. The game was quite chippy as Concordia committed 18 fouls before both a Tornado and
Brady Faulkner collided which caused a second yellow for the freshman in the 86th minute. Both benches erupted as neither felt it was card worthy, but the freshman will have to sit out Thursday's match. However, despite multiple Concordia chances, Southwestern never broke for another clean sheet.
GAME NOTES
- Richards continues to score in the biggest moments as the sophomore is tied with Cooper Pero with four goals.
- Singh and Pero played the entire game on the backline as Chase Johnson and Connor Gritzmacher also helped intact the shutout.
- Southwestern registered 20 shots on the night.
- The Pirates have only allowed one goal in five home games.
- SU is 14-1-2 in non-conference matches in the past two seasons.
UP NEXT
Southwestern hosts LeTourneau University on Thursday at 7 p.m.
