Falcons Advance in NAC Tourney

Mequon -

Bryce Bartelt corralled a rebound and pounded in his first collegiate goal Sunday, which turned out to be the game-winner in the Falcons' 2-1 NAC Tournament first round victory over Aurora.

Concordia battled back from an early 1-0 deficit, with Kyle Sytsma tallying the equalizer after Aurora got a goal in the first ten minutes. Just before halftime, Enrique Alvarado sent in a cross off the head of Tyler Harris that was batted out to Bartelt who sent in the eventual winner.

The three combined goals at halftime equaled the total amount of goals these two teams had scored against one another in each of their last three meetings (all 1-0 decisions).

In the second half, Thomas Anderson made a couple of great saves down the stretch to help allow the one goal lead to hold up.

The Falcons have now eliminated the Spartans from the NAC Tourney twice since the league formed in 2006, and picked up some revenge from a season-ending loss to Aurora a year ago. "I was really impressed with our team," praised Tom Saleska. "There was a degree of energy change after they scored that early goal and we played our best soccer from that point on."

Concordia improved to 8-0-3 at Fitting Field and will now travel to River Forest, Illinois, to battle Dominican in a NAC Tournament Semifinal on Wednesday at 1pm.