PELLA, Iowa — The Knights (8-2-3, 4-0-0) defeated Central College (5-6-1, 1-3-0) 3-1 on Saturday, Oct. 17 after all four goals in the match were scored in the final six minutes of play.
Lwings Kabula got the scoring started in the 85th minute with a breakaway goal beofre both
Flori Gembo and
Alima Mmunga added goals in the 86th and 87th minutes to push the Knights to a 3-1 victory on the road.
Wartburg has now won seven-straight contests and has begun American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) play 4-0 for the first time since the 2014 season.
How It Happened
First Half
- The Knights created early chances with shots by
Lwings Kabula at 2:04 and
Flori Gembo at 4:51 before earning a corner at 6:52.
- The Knights continued to create chances through the middle of the half, including a corner at 10:16 and four shots from 14:02 to 20:57, with Morgan Finkenbinder saving attempts by Gembo and
Jacob Chickering.
- Central recorded a shot at 31:09 when Cooper Collins missed high, but the Orange and Black closed the half with another push: Kabula shot at 35:13,
Carson Kay had an attempt saved at 40:30 between two corners, and Gembo missed high at 42:32 as the half ended 0-0.
Second Half
- The Knights opened the half with five shots by 50:26, including three Gembo attempts saved by Morgan Finkenbinder.
- The match stayed scoreless as the Orange and Black added chances from
Alima Mmunga, Gembo and
Blake Whitlow, with Whitlow's shot saved at 72:20 before a corner kick.
- The Knights broke through late with three goals in less than two minutes: Kabula scored at 84:33, Gembo added another at 85:16 and Mmunga scored from Kabula's assist at 86:21 to make it 3-0.
- Central answered at 87:44 on Nathan Scholl's goal from Max Lauman, but
Caleb Cross saved shots by Nate Lampe and Logan Harswick in the closing minutes as the Knights finished off the 3-1 win.
Top Performers
Flori Gembo
- one goal
- game-winning goal
- 10 shots
- six shots on goal
Lwings Kabula
- one goal
- one assist
- three points
Alima Mmunga
- one goal
- two shots
Notes
- The Knights now lead the all-time series 25-15-3
- Third goal of the season for Kabula and the 10th of his career
- Fifth goal of the season for Gembo and the 21st of his career
- Sixth goal of the season for Mmunga and the 15th of his career
- Second match this season recording both a goal and an assist for Kabula
- Sixth assist of the season for Kabula and the ninth of his career
- The Knights moved their winning streak to seven matches
- Fifth time this season with three or more goals scored
Up Next
Up next, the Knights host University of Dubuque on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 7:30 p.m. at Salzwedel Field in Waverly, Iowa.
