Men's Soccer 9/12/07 -- Augsburg 1, Concordia-Moorhead 0
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MINNEAPOLIS (9/12/07) -- Josh Stepaniak (So., Woodbury, Minn.) put home a cross from Tyler Seidel (Sr., Woodbury, Minn.) in the 81st minute, providing the lone goal in a 1-0 win for the Augsburg College men's soccer team over Concordia College-Moorhead in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener on Wednesday night at Augsburg's Edor Nelson Field.
Seidel served the ball across the penalty box from right to left, and Stepaniak put the ball home with his right foot past Concordia goalkeeper Kirby Johnson (So., Crookston, Minn.) with 9:15 left in the second half.
"Certainly, we would rather score early, but Stepaniak was due with the way he was performing in the match," said Augsburg head coach Greg Holker. "He got on the end of a great service by Tyler Seidel."
With the win, Augsburg improves to 4-2-0 overall, while Concordia drops to 1-4-0 overall.
"A win is a win, and in the MIAC they are even more valuable," Holker said. "Concordia is a much improved side and did very well to disrupt our attack. We have some things to sort out, but a week to train will be good before we go again in the conference against Hamline. I saw the Pipers play today before us, and they were dangerous in the attack. Both Lucas and Warhol caused problems, and will be a handful to deal with."
Augsburg controlled play for most of the contest, claiming 29 shots to Concordia's 11 -- including a 15-4 edge in the first half. Augsburg also had nine corner kicks to Concordia's two. But the Auggies could not get any shots past the Concordia goalkeeper until the final minutes of the game. Johnson had 10 saves for the Cobbers.
Augsburg goalkeeper Evan Fuhs (Jr., Woodbury, Minn.), making his first start of the season, collected his third collegiate shutout with a three-save performance.
"Evan Fuhs was strong in goal. He had to come up with one big save, and he rose to the challenge. Overall, he was very strong," Holker said. "Lucas Ingram (So., Woodbury, Minn.) was clearly the best player on the field -- strong in defense, and absolutely dangerous coming out of the back."
In addition to Fuhs, nineteen Auggies saw playing time in the game, and all but three of the position players had at least one shot in the contest.
Both teams return to action on Saturday (9/15), as Augsburg hosts Buena Vista (Iowa) in nonconference play at 1 p.m., and Concordia hosts Gustavus at 2 p.m.
