PELLA — A header by
Alejo Marcon (senior, Resistencia, Argentina, Pella Christian HS) at the start of the second half was enough to push the Central College men's soccer team past Wartburg College for a 1-0 win Saturday afternoon.
After the Dutch (6-2-4, 2-0-2 American Rivers Conference) and Knights (4-6-1, 2-1-0 conference) held each other scoreless through 45 minutes, Central took advantage of a long
Nate Lampe (sophomore, Newton) throw-in to build into the game-winning tally.
Max Lauman (sophomore, Pella) secured the ball and passed it forward to midfielder
Teddy Apostolopoulos (sophomore, Pella) who lofted a short cross into the box for Marcon to put his head on. He sent it towards the left post and past the keeper.
"The first goal is so important in our league right now," coach
Garry Laidlaw said. "The vast majority of the games are so tight and so low scoring. The first goal is always going to force the other team to press a little bit."
Defensively, Central blanked a Wartburg offense which had scored a combined 12 goals in its first two conference matches. Goalkeeper
Morgan Finkenbinder (sophomore, Elkhorn, Neb., Skutt Catholic HS) made three saves for the win and his sixth shutout of the season.
"We made them uncomfortable at times," Laidlaw said. "We were tidy when we needed to be. It got a bit scrambled in the second half which is understandable because they were always going to make a push. Our defensive effort we put in today was something else.
"Morgan did a great job sitting behind a good goalie last season. He's reaping those rewards now. He's a good teammate and our team wants to play well in front of him."
Central is in Decorah Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. match with Luther College.
"We've done a really good job of playing one game at a time," Laidlaw said. "We know today was a great win for us, but it's the same three points as every other game. Our guys have remained focused throughout and we've just to keep doing that and the rest will take care of itself."
