Fort Wayne, IN – Two teams who made it to the NAIA Opening Round a season ago squared off on Saturday afternoon when Cumberlands made the trip to Indiana Tech. The evenly matched contest ended up favoring the Warriors, who won the game 1-0.

The first 45 minutes for UC's season saw a defensive battle with both teams combining for just five shots on frame. The Patriots best scoring opportunity in the game came in the 31^st minute. Sergio Infantes Castell was just outside the 18-yard box when he was fouled by an Indiana Tech defender. Infantes Castell took the free kick, sending a bending ball to the far-right corner that was barely saved by the goalkeeper.  

The stalemate was broken in the 56^th minute of action from a defensive miscue by the Patriots' defense. A ball was misplayed resulting in an Indiana Tech forward getting the ball at the top of the 18-yard box who sent a one touch shot into the back of the net.

The Patriots were able to get the offense forward more often in the second half, recording six shots. All seven shots in the match for Cumberlands were from different players.
Despite giving up the one goal, sophomore goalkeeper Akililu Zambataro had five saves which ties for the third most in his career. He was able to keep UC within reach of a game tying goal especially late in the contest where he recorded three saves in the final ten minutes of play.

Cumberlands is a team with plenty of youth, starting three freshmen, the most in an opening match since Head Coach Chris LeFevre took over.

The Warriors improve to 4-0 on the season and the Patriots fall to 0-1. UC will be back in action where they will travel to Columbia College (Mo.) on Wednesday, November 11^th. Columbia College does not permit any fans at their events, but they will provide a live stream found here and live stats found here.

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