It was a toasty afternoon, and the NIC men tore up the field in their first regular season home soccer game against Treasure Valley.
The men had great communication and took advantage of every opportunity, and head coach Ken Thompson credits the 4-2 win to his players’ “solid finishing and desire.”
The Cardinals went into half-time leading 2-0 with goals from Alec Maldonado and Matt Howard.
After another NIC goal from Hamidou Kante to greet the second half, Treasure Valley bit at the heels of NIC’s three-point lead with two quick scores near the end of the game.
With some great saves from goalkeeper Tanner Horton, the guys were able to reestablish their efforts, and The Cardinals solidified their win with a shocking goal from Jorge Carmona off the post, bringing the game to it’s 4-2 conclusion.
NIC’s next game will be at home against Colombia Basin College on Wednesday. For this game, coach Thomson said that they will be working on being steadier in the back, and being cleaner with the ball.
“This is probably the first time one or two players have played more than 90 minutes,” Thomson said. “Some guys were kind of disconnected at the end there, and that’s where problems come from.”
