Junior Anthony Niboli scored in the 67th minute to give Westmont men’s soccer team (2-2) a 1-0 victory over No. 24 Concordia (Ore.). Goalkeeper Justin Etherton recorded three saves and picked up the shutout. The game was played as part of the Far West Challenge held at the Nick World Campus in Beaverton, Ore. Concordia fell to 2-3-1.
“It was a great result for our team which showed some real improvement over our performance against Simon Fraser yesterday,” head coach Dave Wolf said. “Tony Niboli scored a terrific goal and the guys held on from there.”
Niboli had possession of the ball on the left sideline when he turned inside and shot the ball from 25 yards out, lining his shot to the far post.
“It wasn’t unlike last weekend where we had a tough opponent out of the gate on Friday and then had to come back after a difficult loss,” said Wolf. “Once again the team showed great character. Once again we were able to rotate quite a few players. Especially noteworthy was Justin Miller-Torres playing in place of Josh Webb at right-back, which was a new position for him. Justin did a terrific job and we might even be a little bit deeper now.”
The Warriors out-shot the Cavaliers 12-6 and held a 13-3 corner kick advantage.
“It was a super trip for our guys and I am delighted with how they have performed,” said Wolf. “Now we have a big break before we play again and we are looking forward to making the team even better.”
The Warriors will next play Sept. 24 as part of a men’s and women’s doubleheader at home against Cal State San Marcos. Westmont begins Golden State Athletic Conference play Sept. 27 by hosting Vanguard at Russ Carr Field.
Ron Smith is Westmont‘s sports information director.