MANKATO, Minn. - The Concordia University soccer team jumped out to an early one-goal lead on No. 24 Minnesota State, but the Mavericks responded with four unanswered scores for a 4-1 final Thursday afternoon. The Golden Bears fall to 0-3 on the season and 0-1 in the NSIC, while the Mavericks improve to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in league play.
Senior forward
Amanda Olsen (Cottage Grove, Minn. ) was once again the spark for CU as she gave the squad a 1-0 lead at the 10:06 mark in the first period. She floated a corner into the upper right of the net for her team-leading third goal of the season.
It didn't take long for the home team to knot the score at one apiece as Nicole Dooher netted a goal :36 seconds later. Sydney Temple scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 34th minute and the score remained 2-1 at the half.
Minnesota State added two insurance goals in the second as Korey Kronforst tallied a pair of goals in the 57th and 73rd minutes.
Kayla Kuczaboski (Vadnais Heights, Minn. ) recorded a season-high eight saves in goal for the Golden Bears, but suffered the loss. The offense couldn't get any momentum rolling as it tallied just two shots on goal.
Concordia returns to the pitch for its first home match on September 12 against Waldorf College, starting at 7:00 p.m.
On the pregame atmosphere...
If you were looking down the Golden Bear sideline during warm-ups, the first word that would pop into your head would be “focused." You could look at every single member of the team and the same word would describe the look on their faces. There was one main goal of the game. That goal was to win.
On pregame coaching points of emphasis...
Knowing (Minnesota State) Mankato was a strong, offensive attacking team, the main coaching point was to stop them defensively. If we were going to put that “W” up on the board, everyone - in every position - needed defensive intensity. Winning the ball defensively would give a push to get the ball up and counter-attack their weaker players.
On her feelings before the game and two weeks leading up to it...
The week prior to the game, sessions were spent with physicality in mind. (Minnesota State) Mankato is a “bigger” team physically, and we had to match up to them. Another aspect of the game we focused on in previous practices, was possession. By slowing their offense down, we were going to have to hold on to the ball to give them less of a chance for a counter-attack. Having an even record with preseason and non-conference games, it was a fresh start to take out one of the strongest teams in the conference.
On the first half...
For the first 25 minutes of the game, each team was playing well against each other. (Minnesota State) Mankato would have an offensive attack with a shot on goal, and we would answer right back the same way. Tackles were won from every position, on both teams. We were the first to score from a corner kick goal from
Amanda Olsen, unassisted. Soon after, (Minnesota State) Mankato answered back with a goal. Play continued back and forth for around 10 minutes when the Mavericks answered with another goal.
On the second half...
The second half was somewhat slower with the intensity still in mind. (Minnesota State) Mankato was direct with their passing and on target with their shooting. Defensively, we were still hanging with them as well as we could. Another goal was put on the board for (Minnesota State) Mankato within the first 20 minutes. By this third goal, heads were dropped. Continuing to battle until the last second, the final score ended up being 4-1 in (Minnesota State) Mankato's favor.
Postgame thoughts...
At the end of the game, disappointment fell across faces. The coaching staff reassured the team that this was only the beginning. For playing against one of, if not, the top team in the conference, it was a good battle. There is still plenty of season left to fill a spot for the NSIC playoffs. That is still the game plan of the 2012 Concordia Golden Bears.
- Kaylyn Rae Smith
