Christian Cardoso
IU Columbus got off to a little bit of a slow start in its boys soccer season opener Saturday night, but the Crimson Pride recovered in plenty of time.
After falling behind 1-0, IUC scored three unanswered goals to post a 3-1 win against Pikeville (Kentucky).
“We came out kind of flat,” IUC coach Kevin Nolan said. “I felt like we needed a goal against us to get these guys to wake up. Once the second group came in, they brought some energy off the bench, and I think that ignited us in the second half and kept us going.”
Pikeville scored in the 12th minute and was looking to go up 2-0 when it had a free kick just outside the box late in the first half. But Crimson Pride goalkeeper Jacob Kasarda smothered the kick and sent it the other way. Less than a minute later, Jon Michael Bright scored to tie the game at 1-1 in the 40th minute.
IUC took the lead just over two minutes into the second half when Angel Roque scored off a rebound from a Christian Cardoso shot. Cardoso, a freshman from Columbus North, then provided an insurance goal in the 60th minute when he headed in a cross from fellow North graduate Alejandro “Pollo” Alvarez.
“I think in the first half, we didn’t play our best, and then we gave it our all,” Cardoso said. “We had the mentality to talk to each other at halftime in the locker room and build each other up and get the team going. We came out very strong in the second half, got a goal, and then got the third goal and it felt amazing. Once Pollo crossed that ball in and I hit my header, and I knew it went in, it was a great feeling.”
The Crimson Pride played the final 25 minutes a man down after freshman defender Cyuzuzo Ndayambaje picked up his second yellow card, resulting in a red card.
“We started out flat, made some adjustments at halftime and then the guys just carried us home,” Nolan said. “We just have to be a little bit more disciplined. We’re still young, and we just need to learn how to see out a game properly.”
“The second half was our half for sure,” he added. “We definitely came out ready to go. The red card kind of hurt toward the end, but it’s just maturity. We had seven or eight freshmen playing tonight. It’s just growing up and learning how to play at this level.”
The IUC women were scheduled to open their season against Spalding on Saturday, but that game instead became a scrimmage. The Crimson Pride women will open the regular season against Cincinnati-Clermont at 4:30 Tuesday, with the men’s teams following at 7 p.m., at Richard Wigh Soccer Complex.
“We just have to keep going and grinding and practicing,” Cardoso said. “It’s just a bunch of execution. All the guys have to be committed.”
