HELENA, Mont. - The Carroll College men's soccer team found its first CCC win of the 2026 season on Thursday, beating Northwest 2-1 on a perfect night on Valley Bank Field at Nelson Stadium.
Offense has been at a premium for the Fighting Saints (2-2-2, 1-0-1) on the young season, but the return of 2024 CCC Offensive Player of the Year Felix Billard (Mallorco, Spain / SR) to the lineup proved highly beneficial in a 2-1 win over the Eagles (2-4-1, 0-3).
Cyrille Wangama (Spokane, Wash. / SO) provided first-half fireworks for the Saints on Thursday. The shifty sophomore scored his first goal of the season in spectacular fashion, bringing a hearty crowd at Nelson Stadium to its feet. Wangama flew past the Northwest back line, catching up to a pair of touch passes from Sean Balen (Mukilteo, Wash. / SR) and Felix Billard before burying a shot into the right side of the net to put Carroll up 1-0 in the 28th minute.
The 1-0 lead would stick into the halftime break, but Northwest would eventually find an equalizer. Clayton Johnson, a 6-7 defender, used all of his height advantage to leap over everyone and score a header off a corner kick from Dustin Le in the 59th minute, evening things up at 1-1.
Just minutes later, Northwest's Nick Rivera was shown a red card, forcing him to leave the pitch and sending the Eagles down a man for the final half hour. Carroll did not waste the opportunity, upping the pressure exponentially.
The uptick in Carroll's pressure paid dividends in the 70th minute, as Billard made good on a cross from Balen, striking the ball in air and beating the keeper for his third goal of the season.
Balen was instrumental in the Saints' win, making heady plays all over the pitch and assisting on both goals to help Carroll move to 1-0-1 in league play.
Dane Quinn (Helena, Mont. / JR) was effective in net all night long, though not called upon much. Quinn turned away all three shots the Eagles put on net.
The Saints will now turn their attention toward a 2:30 p.m. tilt with the Geoducks of Evergreen State, looking to build momentum in their pursuit of the program's second CCC championship.
Be sure to visit www.carrollathletics.com Saturday evening for a full recap of the action, and for complete coverage of the Fighting Saints all season long.
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