Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference

Junior Joe Ventimiglia

Concordia Snaps 26-game Losing Streak with 2-2 Tie

Posted by Karl Kling - Sat, Aug 26, 2006 - [ Men's Soccer ] - Viewed 832 times

Two late second half goals allowed the Concordia men's soccer team to avoid their 27th straight defeat, as the Cardinals tied Rochester College 2-2 in the season opener. Joe Ventimiglia made a nifty move to avoid Warrior goalkeeper Dave Ristich to tie the game with less than five minutes to play.

August 26, 2006 – (Ann Arbor, Mich.) — There are those that believe a tie is similar to kissing one’s sister. Those individuals haven’t endured a 26-game losing streak that has spanned two seasons. For the Concordia Cardinal men’s soccer team the 2-2 tie in the season opener was nearly as sweet as a victory.

The Rochester Warriors took an early 1-0 lead in the first half as Calvin Marshall scored at the 4:29 mark. The Warriors would take a 2-0 lead into the half, as Adrian Gonzalez ripped a shot that was stopped by Cardinal goalkeeper Jeff Szypula, but the ball trickled over his head and fell into the netting.

In previous seasons, that would have been enough to paralyze the Cardinal attack. But the 2006 version has shown that it isn’t willing to give up the fight.

Freshman Matt Sikes took a feed from fellow frosh Erik Shultz and pounded the ball home to close the gap to 2-1 at the 75:50 mark. With a renewed sense of themselves, the Cardinals kept up the attack until junior Joe Ventimiglia was able to shake free of the defender and with some fancy footwork escape the charge of Rochester goalkeeper Dave Ristich. With an open net, Ventimiglia was able to slam it home to knot the game at 2-2. Szypula finished the afternoon with 12 saves, while Ristich had seven for the Warriors.

The last time the Cardinals didn’t lose a game was the season opener in 2004 when they beat Grace Bible College 4-3 on Sept. 1.