Concord boys soccer shuts out Pinkerton
CONCORD – The duo of Ngongo Mungeta and Chea Chebo led the Concord High School boys soccer team to a key 2-0 victory over Pinkerton Academy Tuesday at Memorial Field.
The Crimson Tide (11-3-1) and Pinkerton (9-5-1) occupied fifth and sixth place, respectively, in the Division I standings entering Tuesday. Concord coach Scott Dunlop said Tuesday’s victory secured his team at least one home postseason game.
Mugeta opened the game’s scoring in the 16th minute when he scored from point-blank range, driving the ball into the middle of the Astros net. The senior midfielder received the ball from Chebo, who weaved his way through the Pinkerton defense into the penalty box before finding Mungeta.
“This (was like) a tournament game,” Dunlop said. “Pinkerton is always in the top eight. They’re always a contender every year and to get in and get one early just breeds confidence.”
Chebo scored a goal of his own in the 66th minute. The sophomore forward launched a shot from the top of the box that bounced off the arm of Astros goalkeeper Max Fairbank (seven saves) and into the top left corner of the net.
“I wasn’t sure that it was going in but coach (Dunlop) just told me to take a shot and hope for the best and I did,” Chebo said.
The Crimson Tide tried to get Chebo in space throughout the contest using through balls and lob passes. One teammate who tried to get Chebo the ball as much as possible was Mungeta, who Dunlop played higher up the field than usual Tuesday.
“He seemed to have a bit more technique (Tuesday) than he had in previous games,” Dunlop said of Chebo. “His touch seemed to be on compared to other games and his speed, he really seemed to be in a different gear (Tuesday), getting by guys with and without the ball.”
The Astros were not without their chances on offense. Pinkerton’s Brian Castle had two shots from the penalty box sail over the crossbar. Teammate Cobi Moore fired a turnaround shot from about 16 yards out in the 71st minute but Concord goalie Liam Devanny (five saves) made a diving stop.
Pinkerton had eight corner kicks compared to Concord’s six. The Astros took six of their corner kicks in the first half.
“I mean, I can’t fault these guys with their effort,” Pinkerton coach Kerry Boles said of his players. “Our issue is we don’t score goals and the door stays open and we can’t close it. We’ve still yet to beat a team in front of us in the standings and this is just another case of that.”
