Eli Kesselheim (left) volleys the ball up field to #17 Jake Killian in NIC's 1-1 tie with Chemeketa C.C. on Sept. 4. (Gabe Green)
Men’s soccer continued to have issues with consistency when they played in Powell, Wyo. last weekend.
The Cards opened the weekend with a loss against Northwest College, 1-4. They then had a major comeback on Sunday, sweeping Bismarck State College 8-0.
On Sept. 3 and 4, NIC hosted the Cardinal Classic soccer tournament. The men’s team won Saturday’s action-filled game against Treasure Valley.
In the first half, NIC scored the first goal nine minutes in. Treasure Valley wouldn’t let that go unanswered. They punched one in with only four minutes remaining. The Cards appeared to be wound up and ready to go.
“We have a game plan that we have been following since training camp started,” coach Ken Thompson said. “I think the team chemistry is very good right now. Everyone is having a good time and practicing hard.”
In the second half, NIC scored early to show they still had some fight left in them. Both teams played hard and never stopped; the game ended with many attempted shots and great saves from both teams.
“It feels like we are a team and a family,” said goalkeeper Elliott Gilbert, 19, Political Science. “The game went better than I hoped it would. Both our goals were the same play at the same time; we really dominated.”
NIC won with a score of 2-1 over Treasure Valley.
On Sept. 4, the men’s team stalled out against Chemeketa. The first half was filled with extreme intensity and competitive spirit. At half time, the score remained 0-0 with several attempted shots and impressive saves from both teams.
“Chemeketa is a very talented team and very skillful all the way around with a lot of speed up top that we haven’t seen,” Thompson said.
In the second half, Chemeketa scored first boosting the intensity from the Cards. In the last few moments of the game, Chemeketa committed a folly by accidently knocking the ball into their goal giving NIC a point.
Despite many close calls and impressive saves from both teams, the game ended in a tie of 1-1.
The players had varied opinions on how they thought they preformed throughout the game.
“I don’t think we possessed the ball as well as we should have and that we were a little tired form yesterday but I think we did really well, keeping our composure especially with lots of yellow cards,” said defender Dustin Bingham, 18, business major.
Although the game ended in a draw, some players said they could sense a new fight in the team.
“There was a lot of intensity and a lot of passion,” said midfielder Forrest Walker, 19, registered dietician. “People played a lot tougher and it really showed how strong all our players are physically and mentally.”
The men’s next home game is on Sept. 16 at 4:00 p.m. against Northwest College out of Powell, Wyo.
