SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Concordia-St. Paul soccer team (6-7, 5-5 NSIC) fell to #25 Augustana (11-1-1, 9-0-1 NSIC) by a score of 3-1 on Saturday afternoon. Kelli Heytens netted her first career goal for the Golden Bears in the loss.
 
The Golden Bears fell behind 2-0 in the first half and furiously fought to get back into the game, cutting the deficit in half, but were unable to pull even as the Vikings claimed a 3-1 win on their home field.
 
Concordia edged Augie in shots as they collected 16 shots compared to 12 for the Vikings. Each team finished with seven shots on goal in the game. The Golden Bears also held a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks on the day.
 
In addition to Heytens putting home her first goal in navy and gold, McKenzie Buck and Chelsie Lindsay were also busy in the attack as Buck put up a game-high five shots (three on goal) while Lindsay contributed two shots (one on goal).
 
Emma Gartner took the loss in net for the Golden Bears as she made three saves in the game.
 
The trio of Emily Jacobson, Stephanie Stevens, and Samantha Tymkowicz did the scoring for Augustana as Jacobson also ended up with a match-best four shots on goal.
 
Taylor Machacek got the win in net for the Vikings as she made six saves and allowed just the one goal in the winning effort.
 
The Golden Bears came out firing in the first half as they looked to claim an early lead and force Augie to play from behind but it was the Vikings that struck first in the 20^th minute. Stephanie Stephens stepped up to the penalty spot following a foul in the box on CSP and buried it into the back of the net to make it 1-0.
 
The Vikings carried that momentum through much of the rest of the first half before they added to their lead in the 37^th minute on a breakaway for Samantha Tymkowicz off the pass from Ellie Knowles to double the Augie advantage to 2-0.
 
The Golden Bears showed some real resolve as they grabbed control of the game for the rest of the half and showed they were not out of it.
 
CSP continued to apply pressure to the Augustana defense in the second half as the action was heavily tilted in Concordia's offensive end for long stretches of time. That pressure was finally rewarded in the 54th minute as Kelli Heytens delivered a header off a corner from Alahna Anderson and deposited it into the back of the net to bring CSP back to within one at 2-1.
 
The pressure remained on Augie for much of the rest of the game as Concordia was swarming on the offensive side of the field, but the Vikings deflated the comeback hopes with an Emily Jacobson shot that deflected into the net to make it 3-1 in the 85^th minute. The Golden Bears were unable to regain their control as time ran out and Augustana closed out the 3-1 win.
 
Concordia will look to get back in the win column on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. as they travel to MSU Moorhead for an NSIC showdown.