ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul soccer team (3-5, 2-3 NSIC) heads back on out the road this weekend as they take on Northern State (4-3-1, 2-2-1 NSIC) on Saturday and MSU Moorhead (1-3-3, 1-3-1 NSIC) on Sunday. Both games are set to begin at 1 p.m.
The Golden Bears split last weekend with Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State as CSP dropped a 2-0 decision at UMC on Friday before picking up a 1-0 shutout win at BSU on Sunday.
Friday's match saw the Golden Bears double up the Golden Eagles in shots at 14-7, but Minnesota Crookston managed to put one in the back of the net in each half to knock off CSP 2-0.
The defense stepped up in a big way on Sunday as the Golden Bears wrapped up their second shutout victory in their past three games with a 1-0 win over the Beavers.
Emma Gartner was excellent behind a stellar back line as she made seven saves en route to claiming her second shutout win of the year.
Taryn MacMillan continued her strong play since returning to her role in the midfield as she netted her second game-winner in three games with a goal from
Jade Weller and
Jessica Bianchi in the 40
th minute.
Despite holding a record of 3-14-1 in the all-time series against Northern State, the Golden Bears have had more success in the recent years with two wins in the last four meetings, outscoring the Wolves 7-4 during that span. The Wolves, however, have won the last four meetings in Aberdeen between the two schools, dating back to a 1-0 CSP win back in 2006.
Last year in St. Paul, NSU picked up a 2-0 win at Sea Foam Stadium in the lone meeting on the season. The Golden Bears created numerous great scoring chances but were unable to capitalize on what was a cold, windy afternoon in St. Paul. CU doubled up the Wolves in the shot column as they had 20 shots compared to just 10 for NSU. The Wolves did prove to be efficient with their shots as five of their ten shots were on net and two were put in the net while Concordia had six shots on net.
The Golden Bears have had much more success against the Dragons of MSU Moorhead as they have gone 12-5-2 in 19 previous meetings with MSUM. CSP has dominated the series in recent years as they have won the last six meetings and have outscored the Dragons 16-6 in those victories. Concordia has gone 5-3-2 in 10 trips to Moorhead.
Last season, the Golden Bears erased a 2-0 deficit at Sea Foam Stadium to grab a dramatic 3-2 win over MSU Moorhead. After trailing 2-1 heading into the break, the Golden Bears turned up the heat out of the half and were rewarded as
Taryn MacMillan evened the score on a loose ball in front of the net off a cross in which she buried up high over the keeper in the 56th minute. MacMillan didn't wait long before providing an encore as she buried a penalty kick on a hard, low shot in the 61st minute to give the Golden Bears the lead.
Live stats will be available for both matches at the links listed above.
