st. Paul, minn. - a goal by concordia senior casandra rikkola sent sunday afternoon's matchup on the pitch into a 1-1 overtime. Upper iowa finished the contest a minute and a half into the extra period and took the 2-1 win. The game was the final home appearance for the golden bears this season and possibly the team's final game on concordia field, with expectations of the new soccer facility being finished by next fall.

the golden bears gave up an early goal in the game but were on the attack against the peacocks. They out-shot uiu 21-19 and had ten shots on goal to the peacock's seven throughout the battle. The middle of the first period was especially full of action in favor of concordia, although they went into the intermission down 1-0. kari janes led the first half push with four shots, two going on-goal.

the second half was as much of a physical battle as any seen at concordia field this season. Players from both teams jockeyed for possessions and tensions ran high as time continued to tick in the close game. Three yellow cards and 30 fouls were issued throughout the afternoon as several players from both benches hit the ground following contested balls.

the golden bears refused to go scoreless in the meeting, but it wasn’t until the 81:17 point that concordia's efforts reaped a goal. savannah nolen crossed a ball through defenders in front of the net as casandra rikkola stepped in tied the game at 1-1. It was the second career goal for the senior. Her first goal as a golden bear came her rookie season, also at concordia field against upper iowa.

the peacocks (7-7-2, 4-4-1 nsic) came up with a surprising and quick goal just over a minute into the overtime period. The game winner was scored by emily gielau and assisted by tiffany barnish.

concordia (6-11-0, 3-7-0 nsic) received five total shots from janes and four from chloe weinberg. The golden bear defense was supported by a number of midfielders and defenders, including whitney leverington, hannah baker and sam voeller, and allowed the peacocks only seven shots on goal. keyton wheelock made five saves and took the overtime loss.

prior to sunday’s kick-off, the golden bears recognized seniors hannah turgerson, keyton wheelock, casandra rikkola, sam voeller and whitney leverington and junior nikki hertel and thanked them for their contributions to concordia soccer over the years.