ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul soccer team (9-4-1, 7-3-1 NSIC) win their third in a row as they won 1-0 against the Northern State Wolves (4-8-1, 3-7-1 NSIC) on a chilly Sunday afternoon. The Golden Bears remain in fifth place in the NSIC, but now hold it exclusively, with two weeks left to go in the regular season.
 
With the victory, the Bears tie the Concordia record for the most conference wins in a season, with seven, which was done three other times (2006, 2012, and 2015). This is also the third time in Concordia's Division II history that the team has reached nine or more wins.
 
This is the fifth time that CSP has beaten the Wolves in their series history and the twelfth one-goal game between the two teams in their 21 meetings. In their last three matchups, the Bears went 1-2, winning 2-1 back in 2015. Last year, Jordan Rowan-Stafford scored for the Bears, but it was not enough, as the Wolves went on to win 3-1.
 
In this year's game, the Bears offense wasted no time as three different CSP players took shots within the first three minutes, starting with sophomore Jackie Ehlert hitting the crossbar a minute into the game. The play would remain on the Wolves half of the field for the majority of the half. CSP would outshoot Northern State 11-0 in the first half, with eight of those shots being on goal. The Wolves had a couple chances down the field, but the defense did not let them take a shot.
 
It was junior captain Jade Weller who would find the back of the net for the Bears in the 35^th minute as she headed in a corner kick from teammate Madyson St. Germain. This was Weller's fourth goal of the year and she now has nine points, which is the second most on the team. St. Germain tallied her second assist of the season on the play.
 
In the second half, the defense again held the Wolves offense to no shots for the majority of the half. The only two shots they were able to get off were both in the last minute of the game and both were not on goal. The Bears offense took six shots and had some other good looks from the four corner kicks they took in the second half. No one found the back of the net in the second half for either team, but Weller's goal was enough to lead the Bears to victory.
 
Goalkeeper Emily Nelson secured her sixth win of the season and her fourth shutout. She is now 6-3 on the year. Her six wins so far this year and her four from the 2016 season puts her fifth in most wins in program history.  Nelson's eight career shutouts currently ranks fourth in the record book.
 
The Bears are on the road next weekend as they take on Minot State on October 21^st and University of Mary on the following day, October 22^nd. Both games will start at 1 p.m. and you can follow along online at cspbears.com/watch.