ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia Golden Bears soccer team (6-5, 5-3 NSIC) extended their winning streak to four with a 3-1 win over the University of Mary (1-8-1, 1-7 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon at Sea Foam Stadium.
McKenzie Buck opened the scoring and
Chelsie Lindsay later scored the game-winner before
Kaitlyn Halvorson tacked on an insurance goal in the first half to give the red hot Golden Bears the win.
In addition to winning their fourth straight game for the first time since the 2009 season, Concordia won their fifth out of six and sixth out of eighth in an impressive stretch early in the conference season.
After allowing an early goal,
Emma Gartner was excellent as she made six saves in the victory. The win was the senior's fifth on the year as she has not allowed more than one goal in a game over Concordia's winning streak.
It was a high-paced game with a total of 38 shots, including 13 on goal, as both teams created numerous chances throughout the day. Both teams finished with 19 shots as U-Mary edged CSP 7-6 on shots on goal.
The Golden Bears wasted very little time to take the lead as they weathered a quick U-Mary storm before a counter-attack resulted in a goal for
McKenzie Buck in the fifth minute. Coming off a goal kick for the Marauders, the ball ended up at the feet of
Chelsie Lindsay, who sent a perfect pass behind the U-Mary defense to give Buck an open break at the net. Buck took on the keeper one-on-one and rolled a shot past her into the net to give CSP a 1-0 advantage. The goal was Buck's second of the season while Lindsay added her third assist.
Concordia continued to pressure after the goal but it was a counter-attack for the Marauders that led to the next goal as Emily Julian played an excellent ball to Michelle McGary, who buried the shot from about five yards out on the left side of the net for her first goal of the season in the 23
rd minute.
The tie wouldn't last very long as the Golden Bears quickly answered back with a goal just four minutes later.
Jessica Bianchi launched a corner to the far side of the net that was headed near goal by
Brooke Salo and headed past the keeper by
Chelsie Lindsay to put CSP up 2-1. The tremendous sequence of passes gave Lindsay her third goal of the season while Salo registered her second assist and Bianchi added to her team lead with her fifth assist.
Just before the half, Concordia added to the lead as they converted another break into a goal.
Kaitlyn Halvorson snuck down the left side of the field and took a feed from
Jordan Rowan-Stafford and
Shannon Wynne and fired a right foot shot from right out front into the back of the net to extend the lead to 3-1 as the junior defender collected her first career goal. Rowan-Stafford collected her first career assist on the goal as Wynne added her second of the year.
Despite time of possession being pretty even in the opening half, the Golden Bears made the most of their time with the ball as they out-shot the Marauders 11-9 overall and 5-3 on net. CSP also held a 3-1 edge in corner kicks and drew more fouls at 5-3.
Possession continued to be split in the second half as both teams controlled the ball for significant stretches of the half. The two defenses really stepped up after the break as both teams managed to limit the number of opportunities down the stretch. With the wind playing a factor on a windy afternoon at Sea Foam Stadium, U-Mary was unable to capitalize on having the wind at their back in the second half as Concordia's play in the midfield and on the back line snuffed out nearly every chance. The Golden Bears held strong to the final whistle as they closed out a 3-1 win.
The Golden Bears will look to extend their winning streak to five tomorrow afternoon as they play host to Minot State at Sea Foam Stadium at 1 p.m.
