ATHENS, W.Va. – The
Concord University men's soccer team came up short in the Mountain East Conference Championship against top-ranked Charleston, 2-1, Sunday afternoon at the Welch Athletic Complex.
Concord (13-4-3, 10-3-1 MEC) played in another nailbiter with UC, the number one time in Division II, (16-0-4, 11-0-3 MEC) but the Golden Eagles' second goal proved too much to overcome.
Charleston started off the match on the front foot, forcing senior goalkeeper
Nathan Scargill to make two saves in the first eight minutes.
However, UC broke through just seconds later off a corner kick that Concord was unable to defend.
Offense was limited for CU in the first 45 minutes as the Mountain recorded just one shot on goal, forward
Jaden McKree forcing Charleston's keeper to make a save in the 16
th minute.
Scargill kept Charleston from extending the lead with four first-half saves.
Concord found its equalizer in the 52nd minute when junior forward
Dominique Malhomme jumped all over a clearance and calmly smashed it into the top right corner. For Malhomme, it was his sixth goal of the season and second against Charleston in 2025.
However, the Mountain Lions were on even footing for just nine minutes. The Golden Eagles retook the lead in the 61st minute.
Concord sent played forward and pressed on to try and tie the game back up. However, the Mountain Lions were unable to find a second equalizer.
This is the second straight season that Concord has made the MEC Championship and fallen to Charleston.
Concord had seven shots in the contest with two going on target. Charleston finished with 10 shots and seven on goal.
Scargill made five saves in the match, his season high. Malhomme, McKree, and senior forward
Malher Santi Possu each finished with two shots to lead CU.
The Mountain Lions are currently ranked 12th in the Super Region One rankings and await to see if qualify for the NCAA Tournament on November 17th at 7:00 p.m.
