FAYETTE, Iowa – The Concordia-St. Paul soccer team (8-8-1, 7-6-1 NSIC) put themselves in great position to earn a spot in the NSIC Tournament with a decisive 4-0 win at Upper Iowa (7-8-2, 6-7-1 NSIC) on Friday afternoon.
 
The Golden Bears entered the match deadlocked with the Peacocks in a tie for the eighth and final spot in the conference tournament. The win gives CSP 22 points in the standings and puts them in a three-way tie for sixth place with Bemidji State and Southwest Minnesota State heading into the final day of the regular season on Sunday. Concordia will look to close out the season and lock up a spot in the tourney on Sunday afternoon as they host Winona State for Senior Day at 1 p.m. in the season finale. A win for the Golden Bears on Sunday guarantees a spot while several other scenarios could result in the Golden Bears earning a trip to the NSIC Tournament. If CSP ties with WSU, a Bemidji State loss or tie, a Minnesota Crookston loss or tie, or a Southwest Minnesota State loss would ensure a place for Concordia as well. If CSP loses, a BSU loss or a UMC loss would also result in the Golden Bears making it.
 
In Friday's win, CSP snapped a four-game losing streak in the series against Upper Iowa as they picked up their second win in five trips to Fayette overall.
 
Chelsie Lindsay and Jessica Bianchi were a dominant duo up front for the Golden Bears as Lindsay netted the first goal of the game, her fourth of the year, and added assists on each of the next two goals to finish off her first career four-point game while Bianchi was added a goal in each half to extend her team lead with eight goals on the season.
 
McKenzie Buck also chipped in her third goal of the season early in the second half while Jordan Rowan-Stafford and Lindsay contributed the assists on that strike.
 
Emma Gartner wasn't tested very often on the day but stood up to the challenge when called upon as she claimed her second consecutive shutout and fifth of the year overall in the win. She was only asked to make two saves as the Golden Bear defense played a huge role in the shutout.
 
Concordia wasted little time in making their mark on the game as they took control from the opening kick-off and took a 1-0 lead just over 13 minutes in as Chelsie Lindsay picked up a header off a deflection in the box and buried into the back of the net.
 
The Golden Bears didn't stop there as they quickly doubled their lead in the 24^th minute as Jessica Bianchi took a feed from Lindsay and fired a rocket from about 20 yards out coming down the right side and in just inside the far post as she added another highlight reel goal to her resume.
 
The field continued to be tilted in their direction for the rest of the half as CSP continued to get the best of the chances. The Peacocks were unable to get much going as the Golden Bears dominated possession and limited UIU's time in the offensive zone. The Peacocks were only able to register one shot in the half compared to four for Concordia.
 
Upper Iowa came out of the half looking to get back in the game, but it was the Golden Bears that capitalized first. McKenzie Buck joined the scoring party as she linked up with Jordan Rowan-Stafford and Chelsie Lindsay and headed home a goal to push the lead to 3-0.
 
That didn't stop the Peacocks from battling as UIU feverishly fought to shrink the CSP lead. The Concordia defense had different plans as they turned aside every chance and kept Upper Iowa off the scoreboard. Despite creating six shots in the half, only one of them reached Emma Gartner as the CSP back line was suffocating for UIU in closing out the shutout win.
 
Lindsay kept up her impressive play until the final whistle as she broke free in the 87^th minute and drew a penalty, setting the stage for Bianchi to blast the PK into the upper right corner for her second goal of the game.