Concordia University (1-1) was defeated 31-10 by Minnesota Duluth Saturday evening at Malosky Stadium in Duluth, Minn. The Golden Bears struggled offensively in the first half, leading to a 21-0 deficit, and were unable to pull out a second consecutive comeback victory.

The Bears didn't get closer than the UMD 37-yard line in the first half, as they managed just 118 yards on 38 plays, including two interceptions and one fumble.

Senior quarterback James McNear was intercepted on CU's opening drive near midfield, leading to the Bulldog's first touchdown as they marched 45 yards in seven plays in 1:33, capped by a Ted Schlafke five-yard touchdown pass to Greg Aker.

The Bulldog's second touchdown came in the second quarter when Marcus Davis returned a Miles Coffin punt 67 yards for a score.

Neither team was able to score over the next 11 minutes until McNear threw his second interception of the half. The pass, intercepted by UMD's Kevin Krenz at the CU 39, was fumbled when Montez Bridgeforth knocked the ball loose. The Bulldog's caught a break when Brandon Cooley fell on the ball at the 32-yard line.

UMD needed just three plays, as Schlafke took control, hitting Drew Fautsch for a 22-yard completion. After picking up no gain on the ground, Schlafke hit Aker for the second time from 10 yards out, putting UMD ahead 21-0.

McNear was just 4-16 for 34 yards at the half, but he ran for 20 yards on five attempts. Junior Aaron Cawthorn had 13 carries for 42 yards on the ground. Coffin had a busy half, punting five times for a 36.8-yard average, including a 56-yard long. As a team, the Bears had just 95 yards of offense, but they outrushed UMD 79-19.

CU wasted no time getting back into the game, as Cawthorn ran the kickoff back 42 yards to their own 46-yard line. He then took control on the ground, carrying six times for 46 yards on the drive. He also had a 17-yard touchdown run called back on a holding penalty. McNear delivered a five-yard scoring strike to Tyrone Ruffin on second and goal to bring the Bears within 14 at 21-7 following the Brody Johnson extra point.

The Bears defense held UMD to a three and out, but the offense turned the ball back over when McNear was sacked and fumbled, giving the Bulldogs the ball on the CU 13-yard line.

The defense held UMD to a field goal, but the Bulldogs went ahead by 17 points, 24-7.

Concordia responded with an 11-play, 50-yard drive over the next 6:36, getting the ball down to the UMD two-yard line, but they had to settle for a 24-yard field goal by B. Johnson. McNear was 4-4 for 47 yards on the drive, while Cawthorn pounded out 19 more rushing yards on four carries.

The field goal pulled the Bears within two touchdowns with 13:46 remaining, but they wouldn't pull any closer. The Bulldogs answered with a four-play, 74-yard drive capped off by a Joe Russell 17-yard touchdown run. Two plays earlier, Russell broke free for a 37-yard run down to the CU 12-yard line before Adrian Brown forced a fumble that was recovered by UMD at the seven-yard line. A holding penalty on umd set up the 17-yard TD run by Russell.

The UMD score put the game away, and Concordia fell 31-10. Cawthorn led the Bear offense with 108 yards on 23 carries, while sophomore Antwon Williams had five catches for 55 yards, including a 30-yard long.

McNear finished the game 13-29 for 136 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Coffin, who had five first half punts, added a 51-yarder in the second half and finished with six punts and a 39.2-yard average, with three inside the 20.

Senior linebacker Doug Cox led the defensive effort with eight tackles, including a half tackle for loss, and a pass breakup. Sophomore safety Chuck Miesbauer contributed seven tackles, three solo, while senior linebacker Travis Johansen led the team with four solo tackles and finished with six total tackles.

It was turnovers, combined with the special teams on the punt return for a TD, that did the Bears in during the loss, as they had a 17-11 first down advantage and were only outgained by 38 yards (291-253) despite the 21-point scoring margin.

CU held a 37:45 to 22:15 advantage in time of possession but turned the ball over five times without forcing a turnover, leading to a 17-0 UMD advantage in points off turnovers.

While the Bears only converted 3-15 on third downs, the defense held UMD to just 2-13 on third down conversions.

The Bears remain on the road next week when they travel to take on Wisconsin-River Falls at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10.