ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul soccer team (7-4-1, 5-3-1 NSIC) are coming off a dramatic overtime victory over Wayne State as they prepare to take on Minnesota State Moorhead and Northern State this upcoming weekend. The Golden Bears are currently tied with Winona State for sixth in the conference as they head into the last three weeks of regular season play.
 
Pink Out for Hope Lodge
The Sunday, October 15^th game against Northern State will be a Pink Game put on by Concordia University Athletics. The first 50 student fans (with CSP ID) will get a free T-shirt in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. T-shirts will also be available for purchase ($5 for students, $10 for adults) at the Bear Wear Shed. The team will be collecting donations and supplies for Hope Lodge – Minneapolis, which provides free housing for cancer patients and their families while undergoing treatment. Appropriate supplies to donate include food items (non-perishable items, hot chocolate, tea), cleaning supplies (paper towels, disinfecting wipes, dish soap), and travel size toiletry items.  
 
CSP will first take on the Dragons from Minnesota State Moorhead on Saturday, October 14^th. The Bears have a 14-5-2 all-time record against the Dragons and have won the last eight contests against MSUM. Between the 2015 and 2016 matchups, junior defender Jade Weller has scored four times against the Dragons, twice each year. In the 2015 game, Weller scored both off a corner kick and a penalty kick to help the team win 5-0. In 2016, Weller scored in the first 12 minutes of the game, as well as the last two minutes of the game as the Golden Bears went on to win 3-0.
 
MSU Moorhead is currently 1-7-3 overall and 1-6-2 in conference play. Despite only one win, the Dragons were competitive in many of their conference games, with five of their losses being one goal games. They are coming off a 6-1 loss against Bemidji State, who is undefeated in conference play so far.
 
The Dragons return 15 players from last year's roster and add ten new faces for this season. Their top goal-scorer from the 2016 season graduated, but junior midfielder Jessica Dallman has stepped up in her place, leading MSUM with two goals and two assists. Six different players have scored so far for the Dragons, who average 9.7 shots per game and a .430 shot on goal percentage. Three different goalies have started for MSUM with senior Corina Edgington getting the most starts so far. Edgington has 33 saves in the 2017 season, with a .846 save percentage.
 
After the Bears face the Dragons, they take on the Northern State Wolves the following day, October 15^th. In the past three years CSP has gone 1-2 against Northern State. In 2014, the Bears had twice as many shots (20-10) as Northern State, but the Wolves scored once in each half to secure the victory. In the 2015 matchup, the Bears scored twice within a minute in the second half to go on to win 2-1. Last year, the Wolves scored three times within six minutes, which was enough to win 3-1. Junior Jordan Rowan-Stafford scored the lone goal for the Bears in that game in the last eight minutes of play.
 
Northern State is 4-6-1 on the year and 3-5-1 in the NSIC. Four of their conference losses were all one goal games, including a 1-0 loss against Augustana, who is third in the NSIC right now. The Wolves travel to take on Minnesota State Mankato on October 14^th before playing the Bears on the following day. They are coming off a 2-1 victory over Crookston where they scored two goals late in the second half to earn the win.
 
The Wolves return 16 players, although their top scoring threat, Anna Bondy, graduated last year. Bondy scored 15 goals in the 2016 season, which was tied for second most in the NSIC that year. This year, the scoring has been a little more of a balanced attack, with ten different players scoring a goal each. The Wolves also graduated their most experienced goalkeeper from the 2016 season, who made 17 starts from them, compiling 103 saves. Their most used goalie this season has been senior Justine Charles, who has 54 saves so far this year, for a save percentage of .844.    
 
The Golden Bears enter the weekend after a 2-1 overtime victory over Wayne State. In that game, Wayne State scored in the first half, but junior Brooke Salo's second half goal forced an overtime period. 33 seconds into overtime, freshman Kiara Myers got past the defenders and lofted a shot over the head of the opposing goalie to win it for the Bears.
 
The Bears offense has had many threats so far this year with thirteen different players being involved in scoring plays for CSP. Jade Weller leads the team in goals with three and Jordan Rowan-Stafford leads the team in points with nine. The team's seven wins so far this season marks the eighth time in Concrodia's Division II history where they have had seven or more wins, and this year's team still has six more regular season games.
 
Both games this weekend are set to start at 1 p.m. at Sea Foam Stadium. If you can't make it in person, follow along online at cspbears.com/watch.