The Concordia Men's Soccer Team celebrated its five seniors in a ceremony prior to its game against Dixie State on Saturday.  The Eagles honored William Whiddon, Randall McDermott, Cameron Merrill, Manny Nunez and Andrew Almeida.
 
The game was action packed with seven goals scored between the two teams.  It came down to the final minutes as the Eagles and Trailblazers traded goals, but it was the Eagles who emerged victorious.
 
Eric Torres got the ball rolling as he took the ball down to the 18 and crossed to McDermott.  McDmermott sent the ball to the left post and it ricocheted off into the back of the net, putting the Eagles up 1-0.
 
Whiddon faced a barrage of Trailblazer shots, fending off two with saves at the top of the goal before a header found its way into the top right corner to even the game at one.
 
Julian Font attempted to give Concordia the lead with a header with 30 seconds left in the half, but the Dixie goalie saved the shot to keep the scored tied 1-1 heading into halftime.
 
Moises Medina gave the Trailblazers the lead just 30 seconds into the second half.  He dribbled the ball downfield and shot the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal, past the diving Saul Al Ocampo.
 
Ari Claro came up big with the equalizer in the 57^th minute.  He took a shot from the edge of the 18 that deflected off of a Dixie State player and into the goal, tying the game 2-2.
 
Dixie State regained the lead with 16 minutes remaining in the game.  Ather Dawood found the back of the net in the top left corner of the goal.
 
The back-and-forth continued as Concordia evened the match at three.  Torres scored the Eagles' third goal in the middle of a scramble in from of the goal after a corner kick from Claro.
 
The game-tying goal was quickly followed up by the game-winner as another corner kick from Claro assisted an Eagle.  John Letona scored his first goal of the season in game-winning fashion, putting Concordia in front 4-3. 
 
Merrill, the only four-year player for the Eagles, reflected on the game and his time as an Eagle after the game.
 
"Today was a crazy game.  It was awesome to see the fight in our team and the family that we have to pull it off at the end to come back and win the game.  It has been awesome being here for the past four years and I love this team and this program so much.  It's made a huge impact on my life and God's really worked in my life and the lives of others in this program and I'm going to miss being here.  I will remember it forever."
 
With the victory, the Eagles improve to 6-2-1 in PacWest play. 
 
The Eagles conclude the 2017 regular season with a trip up north.  They take on Notre Dame de Namur on Thursday starting at 3 p.m. in Belmont, Calif.