WHEATON, Ill. – Grinnell College's men's soccer team celebrated its first-ever meeting with Concordia University of Chicago in perfect fashion Friday afternoon, waltzing by the Cougars 3-1 in the Wheaton College Bob Baptista Invitational.

Grinnell grabbed a 2-1 halftime lead and then overcame a red card early in the second half to pull out the win.
 
Oliver Northing '25 scored two goals for the Pioneers, boosting his season total to three. Jasper Yang '22 had the other goal, No. 31 in his career which ties Joey Brown and Chad Stewart for fifth all-time at Grinnell.
 
Meanwhile, Carter Benson '24 worked a masterful game at keeper, turning away 10 Cougar shots while helping Grinnell improve to 2-1 on the season.
 
Concordia, 1-2 on the season, scored first before Grinnell evened the score in the 24^th minute. Northing lined up for a free kick near the left sideline, about 8 yards in front of the midfield line. He lofted a perfect shot that hit the jumping keeper's hands, bounced on the ground and into the right side of the net.
 
The Pioneers grabbed a 2-1 lead in the 28^th minute. Yang found himself on the left side of the box as the Concordia keeper came out to challenge. Yang did a spin move and sent a perfectly-placed 14-yard shot into the right side of the net to make it 2-1.
 
Northing gave the Pioneers some insurance in the 88^th minute with his second goal of the game on an assist from Yang. Yang broke loose from a defender in front of the box and dumped the ball to the left. An onrushing Northing collected it and booted it from 8 yards out from the left side to the far post. It was the 11^th assist of Yang's career, leaving him just shy of the top 10 in program history.
 
Concordia edged Grinnell 20-19 in the shots department. Zak Serby '25 had five shots for Grinnell, Yang fired off four, Henry Cladouhos '22 had three and Northing and Sam Naik '22 added two each.
 
Grinnell finishes off the tourney Saturday with a contest against the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m.