Yellowjackets 2, Concordia 1

MOORHEAD, Minn.: The Yellowjacket men's soccer team found the score sheet for the first time in 2018 Wednesday night, and it's no coincidence that the result of said scoring burst was the club's first victory of the year. Friday afternoon they looked to make it 2-0 on the road against Concordia College.

After falling behind early the Yellowjackets rallied, getting a goal late in each half to come-from-behind and shuck the Cobbers 2-1 before a crowd of 217 at the Jake Christiansen Athletic Complex in Moorhead, Minn. With the victory the Yellowjackets reached the .500 mark for the season at 2-2-0 (0-0-0 U.M.A.C.).

Concordia opened the scoring in the 11th minute on a goal by Noah Gjesdahl.

The Yellowjackets would rally to tie the match before halftime. Leonardo Parades scored his first goal of the year, ripping a shot from the top of the box and beating Concordia goalkeeper Jackson Carr to make it a 1-1 match. Fernando Bicalho (Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil/Kickapoo (Wis.)) picked up an assist on the play.

Things stayed that way as the minutes ticked away in the second half. That changed in the 76th minute when Gustavo Barbieri (Florianópolis, Brazil/Colégio Tendência) scored his first goal of the season to push the Yellowjackets ahead 2-1. The eventual game-winning goal was assisted by Felix Blick (Linkoping, Sweden/Katedralskolan) and Mualigbe Keita (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Prairie Seeds Academy).

Ulrik Lager (Vollen, Norway/Asker VGS) made his first career start in goal for the Yellowjackets and earned the victory, posting four saves on five shots. Eric Watson (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Hammarskjold) led the Yellowjackets with five shots.

The Yellowjackets outshot the Cobbers 19-11 and also held a 9-5 edge in shots on goal for the match.

Up Next: The Yellowjackets will stay in western Minnesota and try to move above .500 for the first time in 2018 when they take on Simpson College in a neutral site match. Kick off time is set for 1:00 p.m.