DES MOINES, IOWA – Not for the first time this year, Men's Soccer left it late to secure the win against Briar Cliff on Thursday afternoon. After conceding early in the first half, the Vikings turned the game on its head to produce a 2-1 victory at Cownie Soccer Complex.
 
The Vikings started this game with a blaze of enthusiasm following on from their tournament success in North-western Iowa at the weekend. The opening fifteen minutes of the game were dominated by the Vikings, with chances falling to Warren Sung and Clement Scaccia on multiple occasions. This bright start forced the Chargers to change shape to combat the attacking flair of the home side. After this change, the game settled down and was a cagey affair for the most part of the 1^st half, resulting in a half-time score of 0-0.
 
In the 2^nd half, the Chargers started brightly, scoring just 3 minutes after the restart to make it 1-0 to the away side after a loose pass from the Vikings' defense. However, this seemed to be the wake-up call that was greatly needed for Grand View, as in the 54^th minute, Kai McPeak and Warren Sung combined to find Benedikt Zechmeister on the edge of the box. On his first appearance of the season, the Austrian captain slammed the ball into the top corner to make it 1-1. The energy of Pietro Piacenza and Joshua Grosser on the flanks continued to be key in the 2^nd half as their opponents began to tire, and this would result in Piacenza making a storming run into the box to head home a cross from Warren Sung in the 86^th minute. This goal would prove decisive as the Vikings sealed a 2-1 win against Briar Cliff.
 
SCORING SUMMARY
 
48:01 – BRIAR CLIFF – Yalin Alici (Assist: Andrew Buchanan)
53:35 – GRAND VIEW – Benedikt Zechmeister (Assist: Warren Sung)
85:11 – GRAND VIEW – Pietro Piacenza (Assist: Warren Sung)
 
 
MATCH NOTES

• Benedikt Zechmeister scored his first career collegiate goal on return from injury
• Warren Sung grabbed his 4^th goal involvement in 4 games
• Men's Soccer are now undefeated in the last 3 games

 
UP NEXT
Men's Soccer rounds off non-conference play against Concordia University (Neb.) this Saturday afternoon at Cownie Soccer Complex. This game kicks off at 1 PM in Des Moines, IA.