Late Goal for #15 Concord Cancels Out Quintero Rivas' Penalty for Men's Soccer

ATHENS, W. Va. – A late Concord goal rescued a 1-1 draw for the No. 15 team in the country against the Frostburg State Men's Soccer team.
 
Fresh off suffering their first loss of the season, CU was quick out of the gates, earning a corner just two minutes in, but the resulting shot from the edge of the box was blocked in a crowded area. Nine minutes later, a run down the right wing from Richard Henry resulted in an effort from a tight angle, which went wide of goal.
 
A couple minutes after, the Mountain Lions nearly took the lead off a Frostburg head, as the ball was flicked towards goal off a throw, but went just wide of the post for a corner. Freshman keeper Jan Foret was able to corral the ball and sent a fast punt down the other end, where sophomore Hugo Portillo cut inside at the corner of the 18 and fired high.
 
Nearing the 20-minute mark of the half, a dangerous back-pass was miscontrolled by the Concord keeper Miguel Oliveria, as Portillo rushed in to pounce, but the former recovered just in time to get a leg to the ball and send it over for a corner. Both teams locked in defensively, as the only shots for the next 15 minutes were two Mountain Lion efforts that went high and wide.
 
Inside the final 10 until the break, junior Abdur-Rahman Neama worked his way down the right wing and sent in a cross that was half-cleared by the CU defense, with the ball finding its way to freshman Dom Good, who was brought down by a sliding challenge in the box for a penalty. Junior Carlos Quintero Rivas stepped forward and snuck the ball underneath a diving Oliveria to hand FSU a 1-0 lead.
 
With time winding down, Concord was able to get a couple of late throw-ins, the latter resulting in a bouncing ball towards the back post, as Andy Cruz tried to volley home, but couldn't get enough purchase, allowing Foret to claim and keep the Mountain Lions off the board after the first period.
 
Just three minutes into the second half, CU nearly had their equalizer, as Henry was played through on goal, but Foret came up with a huge 1-v-1 save to keep the lead. Concord continued to press for their opener, but only managed one high shot over the next 10 minutes. The hosts' pressure ramped back up soon after, as the Bobcat defense threw bodies at a couple of shots to make blocks, while Foret stood tall as well to stem the tide. Still on the attack, another corner was headed towards the top corner, but Foret was able to step to his right and make the claim.
 
After an easier save for the FSU netminder to make, Frostburg was able to settle the ball down with possession and limit the Mountain Lion attack. It took until nearly 25 minutes in for sophomore Tom Leinhos to register the Bobcats' first shot, as he shot forward from defense into offense but saw his effort blocked at the edge of the box. Inside 15 to play, senior Alex Flores and junior Gabe Jones caused some chaos in the penalty area, with the latter finally able to swing his leg at a loose ball, but it deflected off a CU defender and out of play.
 
Off a corner kick just a minute later, senior Caleb Dell had a great chance to double the advantage, rising highest with his header, but could only put his effort wide. Working their way back down the field Concord again had a chance through on goal, but Foret made another kick save, then collected a bouncing header on the resulting corner.
 
With the seconds ticking down, Concord sent wave after wave forward and finally received just a bit of luck, as a ball into the box sliced off a Bobcat foot, bounced against Syrus Connolly, and sat up for Henry to lash home for the latest of equalizers to save a 1-1 draw.
 
CU had a 15-8 advantage in shots, with a 6-2 lead in efforts on goal and 11 corners to FSU's three.
 
With the draw, Frostburg now stands at 5-1-1, while the Mountain Lions are 4-1-2 on the year. The Bobcats return home from their three-game road trip on Wednesday, October 2 to face Wheeling at 7:30 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.