ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul soccer team (6-3-1, 4-2-1 NSIC) continues their conference schedule this week when they travel to Sioux Falls to take on the Augustana Vikings (7-1-2, 6-0-1 NSIC) and then return home to take on the Wayne State Wildcats (3-3-4, 2-2-3 NSIC). The Golden Bears are currently tied for fourth place in the NSIC with Minnesota Duluth and Winona State.
 
In the last three matchups between Augustana and Concordia, the Bears have come up just short. In 2014, the Bears lost 2-1 in double overtime. The Vikings scored within the first seven minutes in that game, but the Bears bounced back and scored in the second half to force overtime, but the Vikings were able to score with less than two minutes left of the second overtime to secure the victory. In 2015, the Bears lost 3-1 despite holding the shot advantage (16-12).  Their lone goal in that game coming from defender Kelli Heytens when she headed in a corner kick. In 2016, the shots were about even (16-15) but the Vikings came up with a goal in each half to win 2-0.
 
This season, Augustana has won their last seven games and are currently tied for first place in the NSIC, sharing this spot with Bemidji State and Minnesota State. The Vikings return 26 players from last year's roster, 14 of which are juniors or seniors. Among those returning players, are their top-two goal scorers from last season, Samantha Tymkowicz and Julie Plonsky. They combined for nine goals last season, and Tymkowicz has three goals so far this season. Augustana did lose Emily Jacobson, who led the team in overall points with three goals and seven assists in the 2016 season.
 
After the Bears take on Augustana, they will return to Sea Foam Stadium to play Wayne State on Sunday. The Wildcats are currently 2-2-3 in conference play and are set to take on #13 Minnesota State on Friday before traveling to take on the Golden Bears. The Bears have an overall 11-8-2 record against the Wildcats, although CSP is 0-2-1 against them in the past three years. Concordia held the shot advantage in all three of those games.
 
The Wildcats return 18 players from their 2016 roster and add five new faces to this year's squad. Top goal scorers from 2016, Brooke Buzzell, Natalie Rech, and Carys Hund, are all returning for Wayne State, as well as Christine Stassi who leads the team in goals this year with three. Their most experienced goalie from the 2016 season graduated and this year sophomore Rachel Grisham has gotten the majority of the minutes in net, making 55 saves for a .786 save percentage.
 
Concordia will be heading into Friday's matchup against Augustana coming off a 3-0 victory over Minnesota Crookston. Freshman Cayla Renwick scored her first two collegiate goals three minutes apart in that game and sophomore defender Hannah Pavek added her second goal of the season to make it 3-0. Senior Shannon Wynne and junior Jordan Rowan-Stafford picked up assists in the game. Rowan-Stafford continues to lead the offense with eight points so far this year. The Golden Bear offensive load has been evenly spread out this season, with nine different players scoring and eight players tallying assists. The CSP defense is also coming off a strong effort against Crookston, where they only allowed one shot on goal all game and no shots at all in the second half. Sophomore Emily Nelson recorded the win on Sunday and is now 3-2 on the year.
 
Friday's game at Augustana is set for 4 p.m. The Bears will then play at Sea Foam Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m. against Wayne State. If you can't make it in person, follow along online at cspbears.com/watch.