Fayette, Mo. – The No. 1 ranked Central Methodist men's soccer team hosted Graceland University in its 2020 home opener, defeating the Yellowjackets, 3-2, Saturday night at Davis Field
With the win, the Eagles improve to 2-0 overall and in conference play. GU falls to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play.
The first half finished in a scoreless tie despite the Eagles firing off nine shots with two coming on goal compared to the Yellowjackets one.
The second half proved different, as just eight minutes into the second frame, the first goal of the match came from Christian Sanchez Ortiz, who fired the ball in between the GU goalkeeper's legs for the score. The play was built on the head of Svenne Myrthu Andersen with Jayton Johnson dishing the pass off to Sanchez Ortiz for the goal.
In the 76th minute, CMU added to its lead courtesy of freshman Tom Irion. The ball was served in the middle of the box to Irion from Marcos German, who placed the ball far enough out in front to give Irion the perfect opportunity for his first goal as an Eagle. Graceland responded almost instantly, as less than a minute later Moise Ndatabaye scored the first goal of the evening for the Yellowjackets, cutting CMU's lead to 2-1.
However, CMU was not deterred as German put another ball in the box on the second post, where Carlos Scheckermann snuck in behind the defense to head the ball into the back of the net. Graceland continued to battle as Pedelson Finda was able to flick a ball into the goal in the 86th minute, trimming the lead to 3-2. Central Methodist was able to hang on for the win in the closing minutes and securing its second win of 2020.
CMU recorded 22 total shots with nine coming on goal, compared to just nine shots for the Yellowjackets and five on goal. German picked up two assists on the evening while Jayton Johnson dished out one. Nine different Eagles recorded at least two shots, and freshman goalkeeper Stefano Camerlengo earned his second win between the posts, recording three saves in 90 minutes played.
The Eagles will be back in action on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m. against MidAmerica Nazarene at Davis Field.
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