Concord Advances to MEC Championship with 3-2 Win Over West Liberty

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University men's soccer team narrowly defeated West Liberty in an exhilarating 3-2 match at Callaghan Stadium to advance to the program's second straight Mountain East Championship game.
 
CU moves on to the MEC Championship for a rematch of the 2024 title game against the University of Charleston. Kickoff at UC's Welch Athletic Complex is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
 
Concord (13-3-3, 10-3-1 MEC) had just enough to overpower West Liberty (7-9-4, 4-7-3 MEC) in front of its home faithful on Wednesday night.
 
The Mountain Lions struck first in the 23^rd minute.
 
After unleashing two shots on goal earlier in the match, senior forward Malher Santi Possu blasted one top shelf past the Hilltopper keeper on a throw-in by junior defender Zakari Messam.
 
Just over two minutes later, West Liberty equalized on a nice counter attack to re-tie the game.
 
The score remained 1-1 at halftime despite CU taking 14 shots in the opening 45 minutes.
 
In the 61st minute, Concord drew a foul just outside the 18-yard box. Possu stepped up to take it and opted to pass, finding junior defender Santiago Lopez who was running in front of the goal. He easily tucked a shot past the WLU goalie. It was Lopez's first goal with the Maroon and Gray.
 
Yet again, the Hilltoppers would answer. This time in the 67th minute, they found an open look off of a corner kick and made Concord pay for it. However, Concord need just two minutes to grab the advantage back.
 
On yet another throw-in, junior forward Dominique Malhomme flicked the behind him right to Possu who rifled the ball into the top right corner to put Concord up 3-2.
 
For the next 21 minutes, the Mountain Lions defended with all their might and were just able to hold off an onslaught from West Liberty.
 
All three Concord goals came from set pieces.
 
The Mountain Lions finished with 18 shots, seven of which were on target. Possu led the way with nine shots, four of which were on fame. Senior defender Ted Roberts recorded three shots.
 
Senior goalkeeper Miguel Oliveria made two saves in the contest, all in the first half. Fellow senior goalkeeper Nathan Scargill got the win by being in net for the second half.