ST. PAUL, Minn. – The eighth-seeded Concordia-St. Paul soccer team will make their first trip to the NSIC Soccer Tournament since 2009 as they travel to top-seeded #6 Minnesota State on Wednesday afternoon for a quarterfinal match. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.
 
The Golden Bears will be making their seventh trip overall to the conference tournament as CSP previously made the field six times in an seven year span from 2003-2009 (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009). They will look to improve their fortunes from their previous runs as they were knocked out in the first round in five of the six seasons, being shut out in all five games. The most successful trip for Concordia came in 2006 as the second-seeded Golden Bears knocked off seventh-seeded MSU Moorhead 3-1 before falling to fifth-seeded U-Mary 1-0 in the semifinals. CSP bounced back and claimed a 1-0 win in double overtime against sixth-seeded Wayne State in the third-place game. Overall, CSP holds a record of 2-6 in their six previous trips.
 
Wednesday's opening round match marks the first meeting in the postseason between Concordia and Minnesota State and the 13^th meeting overall. The Mavericks have dominated the series as they have won all 12 meetings and have outscored the Golden Bears 48-4 during that span. MSU is no stranger to the NSIC Tournament as they have the last two tournament championships and three of the last four. They also claimed the crown back in 2008 to give them four NSIC Conference Tournament titles in the past seven years.
 
Earlier this season, the Golden Bears gave the Mavericks a tough game in the NSIC opener. After seeing possession in their half for the early stages of the game, Concordia shifted the momentum more in their favor. Despite having just one shot on net in the half, the Golden Bears controlled possession for long stretches late in the first half and limited the opportunities for the Mavericks. MSU ended the half with 14 total shots but were unable to solve the CSP defense to add to their lead the rest of the first half. That trend continued for much of the second half outside of a stretch in the middle of the half as Concordia played Minnesota State far closer than the 3-0 score indicated.
 
In that meeting, Emma Gartner was busy in net for the Golden Bears as she made eight saves on 11 shots on goal for the night, including several strong saves in what was a solid performance to keep the Golden Bears in the game. She, along with the CSP defense, kept the score at 1-0 and kept the team within striking distance until late.
 
The Golden Bears entered the final weekend of the regular season with their playoff aspirations still hanging in the balance as they sat in a tie for eighth with their Friday afternoon opponent, Upper Iowa. In a near must-win game, the Golden Bears delivered a memorable performance as they netted a pair of goals in each half to roll to a 4-0 win on the road in Fayette. The win put Concordia in the driver's seat and took off quite a bit of pressure heading into Sunday's finale at home against Winona State.
 
On Senior Day, the Golden Bears battled to the very end despite playing the final 85 minutes with 10 players as they dramatically forced overtime with a Chelsie Lindsay goal in the 88^th minute to force overtime. The Warriors eventually claimed the 2-1 win in the extra period, but it was a spirited showing by CSP.
 
Senior Emma Gartner continued to play at an extremely high level over the weekend as she claimed her fourth shutout of the year (fifth including a combined shutout) on Friday before setting the school record with 21 saves in the hard-fought overtime defeat against WSU. Gartner's impressive season has moved her up in the record books at Concordia as she now ranks second in program history in wins and minutes played while also ranking fourth in saves and goals against average. Her mark of 1.06 this season is good for second best in single-season Concordia history.
 
Gartner wasn't the only Golden Bear to have a solid weekend as Chelsie Lindsay also was tremendous in the team's two games. The junior forward was a difference-maker on Friday afternoon as she scored the game-winner in the 14^th minute before registering a pair of assists on Concordia's next two goals. Lindsay nearly added a second goal late as she drew a penalty, resulting in Jessica Bianchi's second goal of the game on the PK. Lindsay didn't stop there as she scored a stunning goal in the 88^th minute on a rocket from 20 yards out to tie the score at 1-1 and force overtime. In her breakout junior campaign, Lindsay registers in at 15^th in the NSIC in points with 16 and ninth in the league in assists with six.
 
Wednesday's match will be available both via webcast and live stats at the links above.