By james art IRVINE, Calif. – It took only two minutes for the Concordia men’s soccer team to take the lead at Dominican on Thursday.
By the time the full 90 minutes were in the books and their Halloween matinee was complete, the Golden Eagles had cruised to a 2-1 victory.
Miguel Arroyo gave the Penguins a scare by scoring in the second minute of the game. He dribbled just wide of the pitch and deflected a shot to the right of the goal as a host of defenders began to converge on him in the penalty area. Ryan Smith had turned the field after he and Tyler Oakson together, they contested possession in their half of the field, and then Smith found Arroyo across the field. Arroyo took it from there and created his own opportunity.
It was a great way to set the tone for the visiting Golden Eagles.
Arroyo succeeded again in the 39th minute. Domenic Yara found him on the left sideline and the two joined the attack as Dylan Graham and players from both sides rushed the Dominican net. Arroyo dazzled with some fantastic play, broke the ankles of a defender and then fed the ball to Graham, who slotted it into the net.
That second goal proved critical as the Penguins avoided the shutout with a late goal in the 81st minute.
Arroyo now leads CUI in three major categories with four goals, six assists and 14 points.
For Graham, it was his third goal of the season as he continues to make an impact as a redshirt freshman. He is now second on the team in goals behind Arroyo.
Former PacWest Defensive Player of the Week Andre Flores collected a season-best eight saves, including a key stop in the opening minutes preceding Arroyo’s electric goal.
Next up for Concordia is the second leg of their journey in Northern California. The Golden Eagles host the Jessup Warriors for the first time as a PacWest opponent in Rocklin on Saturday. The game is due to start at 11:00am before the women’s game at 1:30pm
Senior Day will be next Saturday, November 9th at 4:00 pm against Hawai’i Pacific.
CLICK HERE for the complete CUI Men’s Soccer schedule
CLICK HERE for the updated PacWest men’s soccer rankings