Taylor Uses Strong First Half to Top Cardinals

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UPLAND, Ind. – The Taylor Trojans (2-4-0) scored two first-half goals and hung on in a nail-biting second half to defeat Concordia (1-3-1) 2-1 Saturday night at Turner Stadium. The victory marked the first home win for TU this season.

Taylor broke through early in the night with Matt Yoder collecting a put-back goal off of Caleb Ballard's blocked shot attempt in the 11th minute. Yoder's goal was his second of the season and was TU's first on its home turf.

After the teams traded multiple scoring chances over the next 25 minutes, the Trojans gained possession and scored on Brock Carpenter's goal with eight minutes left in the opening period. Carlos Sanabria started the sequence up the right sideline before centering to Brian Matipa who quickly fed Carpenter for the sophomore's first career goal on just his third career shot. Matipa's assist also marked a career-first for the senior. 

Though the Trojans held an 8-3 shot advantage in the first half, the tide began to turn in the second period. That's when the Cardinals' offense, which entered the match averaging three goals per game, came to life. After Spiegel made a nice save to open the 60th minute, Concordia went right back on the attack to get within a goal courtesy of Jan Lloveras Freix. 

The teams traded chances throughout the second half, but the score remained 2-1 in favor of Taylor with time running out. The match's final two minutes saw the Cardinals dominate possession, taking two corner kicks, three shots and benefitting from a foul on TU in their efforts to net the equalizer. A save by Sam Spiegel and two misfires from Concordia prevented a draw as the Trojans secured the win.

The stat sheet reflected the competitive game that unfolded at Turner Stadium, with Concordia edging out Taylor in shots, 12-11, but the Trojans holding a 6-5 advantage in shots on goal. Spiegel, who entered play on Saturday as the Crossroads League leader in saves on the year, added four saves to bring his season total to 27, while he picked up his second goalkeeper win.

Taylor has just one match next week, which is set to take place at Lawrence Tech (4-1-0) on Wednesday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m.