NIC MEN'S SOCCER: Heads-up play lifts Cardinals past Wenatchee Valley
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 1 hour, 27 minutes AGO
WENATCHEE, Wash. – Sometimes, you’ve got to get a good bounce.
Other times, it’s better to use your head.
However it came, it was at the right time on Sunday for freshman Rabi Helmand.
Helmand, a midfielder from Frankfurt, Germany, played a rebound of a shot, scoring on a header in the 89th minute as North Idaho College defeated Wenatchee Valley College 3-2 in a nonconference men’s soccer match at Mike Hollis Field.
“Rabi did a good job of anticipating the ball,” NIC coach Brad Williams said. “It was a really good finish.”
The match was tied 1-1 at halftime, with Mattis Macmillian, the former Coeur d’Alene Charter star, coming up with five saves in the first half for Wenatchee Valley.
“He had some big saves for them in the first half,” Williams said. “He had a big performance.”
Sebastiano Casini, a sophomore from Bologna, Italy, had two assists for NIC (2-0), which travels to Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon, Wash., today at 1 p.m.
Wenatchee Valley is 1-2.
First half – 1, NIC, Santiago Nunez (Ivan Leon), 23:00. 2, WVC,unknown, 32:00. Second half – 3, NIC, Danny Reyes (Sebastiano Casini), 58:00. 4, WVC, unknown, 32:00. 5, NIC, 89th, Rabi Helmand (Casini).
Shots on goal – NIC 12, WVC 3.
Saves – NIC, Mason Gutierrez 1; WVC, Mattis Macmillan 5, Zacceryah Lani 4.