FAYETTE, Iowa – The Concordia University soccer team (0-1) dropped their season opener by a score of 3-0 to Rockhurst (2-0) on Saturday afternoon on the campus of Upper Iowa. The Hawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half to stay unbeaten through two games.
The match was much closer than the score appeared as the Golden Bears had seven shots (three on net) compared to nine (five on net) for the Hawks. CU also created three corners but were unable to put one in the net.
Head coach
Steve Bellis said, "We are very disappointed with the result but have lots of positives to take from today. We probably could have gotten a little more out of our opportunities, but Rockhurst was a solid team that made a trip to the NCAA Tournament last year and won a game there. We look forward to getting back out there on Thursday at Mankato and hope to be more clinical with our chances going forward."
Alahna Anderson was active offensively with a pair of shots, one on goal, as
Rachel Gratz and
Sam Marthaler each added a shot on goal as well.
Rockhurst got off to a strong start and put pressure on keeper
Emma Gartner in the early going before striking on a Taylor Skala header on a cross in the 27
th minute. The Hawks remained on the attack for much of the rest of the half, capping it off in the 42
nd minute with a goal from Molly Beelman from the top of the box.
Concordia threatened to get on the board early in the second half with a flurry of shots on RU keeper Caitlin Winschel. The Golden Bears appeared poised to claw their way back into it until a Brandi Van Booven goal for Rockhurst in the 69
th minute slowed their momentum. Neither team was able to get much going the rest of the way as the Hawks finished off the shutout.
In the net, Gartner (0-1) finished the game with a pair of saves as she took the loss.
For the Hawks, Wischel (2-0) stopped all three shots on net to pick up her second consecutive shutout in open the season.
The Golden Bears return to the pitch on Thursday as they open the NSIC slate with a match against the Minnesota State Mavericks in Mankato. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.
