A sad Saturday for men’s soccer

It was a quiet and somber sideline for NIC after their 2-1 loss against Columbia Basin College on Saturday.

The game was intense, with tensions high on both teams after some tussling early on in the game.

“Every game is going to be physical,” NIC forward Alec Maldonado said. “We didn’t keep the ball like we should’ve.”

NIC’s late second half goal came from Hamdiou Kante off of an assist from Matt Howard, but the guys couldn’t capitalize on the momentum soon enough to counter CBC’s two quick points at the start of the half.

“In the second half they scored two goals in 20 minutes and that was terrible,” Kante said. “We were not expecting that.”

The team had difficulties transitioning on defense, and the speedy CBC players successfully managed to get in between NIC and the ball.

Most of NIC’s scoring efforts were thwarted at the deciding moment in front of the goal by a CBC redirect.

“We will work on defensive communication and transitioning,” Kante said.

The culminating moment of the heated confrontation between the teams came late into the second half after an NIC score attempt had both teams jostling one another.

The typically stoic coach Thompson vocalized his concerns to the refs to “keep the players separated.”

Though things got somewhat personal during the game, the players on both sides were quick to shake hands and resolve issues afterward.

The loss for NIC brings their record to 5-4-2 for the season.

NIC will stay home for their next game against Walla Walla Community College this Wednesday.