CROOKSTON, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul soccer team (2-5, 1-3 NSIC) dropped their first road game of the year by a score of 2-0 at Minnesota Crookston (2-4-1, 2-2 NSIC) on Friday afternoon.
 
The Golden Eagles used a goal in the first half from Kallie Gau and another from Delaney McIntyre in the second half to pull away from the Golden Bears in CSP's first action away from Sea Foam Stadium on the young season.
 
UMC keeper Lexi Gauger was excellent behind a solid Minnesota Crookston defense as she made six saves to pick up the shutout win.
 
Cocnordia once again was able to maintain possession for long stretches of the afternoon but were unable to capitalize in the attacking third and get onto the scoreboard. Jessica Bianchi and Jordan Rowan-Stafford each fired a game-high three shots for the Golden Bears while Taryn MacMillan and Mary Kaiser each chipped in two apiece.

Emma Gartner got the start in net for Concordia as she made four saves in the loss.
 
The Golden Bears got the better of the action in the first half as they fired a few quick shots and created several chances, but Minnesota Crookston broke through in the 19^th minute as Kallie Gau took a pass off a corner from Ellie Brettschneider and deposited into the back of the net.
 
The best chance of the half for Concordia came in the 30^th minute as a UMC foul in the box resulted in a penalty kick for CSP. Taryn MacMillan took the PK for the Golden Bears but was turned away on a nice save by Lexie Gauger as she kept her team ahead with a save. Jessica Bianchi added another shot on goal before the end of the half but Gauger turned that aside as well to keep Concordia off the board.
 
Overall, CSP out-shot UMC 4-3 in the opening half, but the Golden Eagles held a 3-2 advantage on shots on target in that span.
 
Concordia turned up the pressure in the second half as they picked up ten shots, with four on goal, after the break compared to four shots, with three on goal, for Minnesota Crookston. After Emma Gartner stopped a flurry of shots from the Golden Eagles in the opening minutes of the second half, the Golden Bears took control and dominated the chances as they looked to even the score.
 
While CSP controlled much of the possession, it was the Golden Eagles who struck again to make a comeback attempt much more difficult. In the 72^nd minute, Delaney McIntyre delivered a free kick past Gartner and into the back of the net to make it 2-0.
 
CSP continued to fight to get on the board the rest of the way but were unable to sneak one past Lexi Gauger as the Golden Eagles claimed the 2-0 victory.
 
Concordia will look to get back into the win column on Sunday afternoon as they travel to Bemidji State to take on the Beavers. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.