ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul soccer team (0-2) took an early lead but was unable to hang out in a 2-1 loss to Southwestern Oklahoma State (1-1) on Sunday afternoon at Sea Foam Stadium.
 
The Golden Bears got off to a fast start as they forced a quick corner and created a chance before freshman Katri Gifford fired a shot that deflected out front and rolled past the keeper into the bottom right corner of the net in the eighth minute for her first career goal in navy and gold.
 
CSP continued to put pressure on the Bulldogs for long stretches of the half but saw their lead disappear as Cori Kelly looped a high-arching shot from 25 yards out from a tough angle on the right side of the field that banked off the far post and into the back of the net in the 19^th minute.
 
The Bulldogs nearly went ahead in the closing seconds of the half as Erica Brunet rifled a shot off the crossbar and Jasmine Heffley picked up a rebound all alone in front of the net but Gartner made a tremendous save to keep the score even heading into the break.
 
Concordia threatened early in the second half to regain the lead with a few chances but it was Southwestern Oklahoma State who found the back of the net as Jasmine Heffley launched a hard shot off her right foot at keeper Emma Gartner, who did well to stop it but was unable to keep it from crossing the goal line as the Bulldogs went up 2-1.
 
After a quiet stretch following the goal, the Golden Bears turned up pressure on SWOSU down the stretch as Jade Weller sent a shot sailing over the net, Jessica Bianchi fired a hard shot into the keeper's chest and McKenzie Buck had an attempt blocked in the bid to even the score at 2-2. It was too little too late for CSP as the Bulldogs were up to the task and held on for a 2-1 victory to even their record on the year.
 
Junior keeper Courtney Flores (1-1) got the win in net as she stopped three of four shots on net while senior Emma Gartner (0-1) took the loss as she finished with a pair of saves on the day.
 
McKenzie Buck, moved into the starting lineup after a strong effort on Friday night, was once again active as she put one of her two shots on net and made some nice runs to challenge the SWOSU and Jade Weller was stellar from the right back position as she fired two tough shots, one on net, and showed off a strong and accurate leg from the back line. Jessica Bianchi also had some nice moments with the ball in the midfield as she put a shot on goal as well.
 
Senior Cori Kelly was active for the Bulldogs as she had a game-high three shots and Jasmine Heffley chipped in a game-best two shots on goal to lead the team in the win.
 
The Golden Bears return to Sea Foam Stadium this Thursday for the NSIC opener as they play host to #6 Minnesota State. CSP also plays at home next Sunday as they close out the non-conference season at 4 p.m. against Viterbo.