ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul soccer team is off to a strong start (2-1) as they head into conference play this weekend. This is the best start CSP has had since the 2009 season. The squad has a pair of road games before they return home on September 22^nd to take on Southwest Minnesota State.
 
First up on the conference slate is the St. Cloud State Huskies, who the Bears will face on Saturday, September 16^th at 11 a.m. Each time that these two teams have met in the past three years, the game has ended in a tie. In last year's matchup, the Bears held the shot advantage (20-17), although St. Cloud had more shots on goal. The Bears were down 1-0 at the half, but scored quickly beginning the second half. Scoring would go back and forth until regulation time expired leaving the score 3-3. Concordia got five shots off during the two overtime sessions, but the score remained tied. Junior Katri Gifford had two goals in the game, leading the Golden Bear offense. In net, Jordyn Clark had six saves.
 
The Huskies return 16 players from their previous team's roster, including their leading goal-scorer from last season, junior forward Maria Kass. Kass had a total of nine goals and four assists in her sophomore campaign. Her teammate, Kylie Cleary currently leads the Huskies in points with three. St. Cloud graduated their most experienced goalkeeper, but senior Leah Schmidt and sophomore Kelsey Christian have both played in net so far this season. The team is 2-1 so far with wins against Northern Michigan University and Michigan Technological University, and with their loss coming from University of Central Missouri.
 
After the Bears take on the Huskies, they will not have long to rest before competing against the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs the following day at 1 p.m. In the past three years, the Bears have gone 1-1-1 against Duluth. In last year's game midfielder Mary Kaiser scored within the last minute of regulation play to force overtime. Defensive overtimes ensued, with neither team getting a shot off and the game ended in a 1-1 tie.
 
The Bulldogs return 21 players and have five newcomers. Their top offensive player, Skye Finley, returns to their lineup, as well as their most experienced goaltender, Sisley Ng. Finley, a senior this season, had five goals and four assists last year for Duluth and already has scored three goals this season in just three games played. Ng played in thirteen games last season for the Bulldogs and ended the year with a .782 save percentage. She currently has six saves on the year. The Bulldogs are 3-0 in their first three contests, winning against Wisconsin-Parkside, Northern Michigan, and Michigan Tech.

The Bears are coming off a 1-0 victory versus Viterbo University (Wis.). CSP dominated the possession for the majority of the game and tallied 21 shots. The defense held Viterbo to only two shots the entire game, one being shot in each half. It was freshman Tori Jensen who broke the tie with her first collegiate goal and lifted the Golden Bears to their 1-0 victory.
 
 Offensively, the Bears have had a very balanced attack, with five different players scoring. So far, juniors Jordan Rowan-Stafford, Mary Kaiser, Katri Gifford, and Jade Weller, along with freshman Jensen, all have scored goals on the year. In net, both Concordia keepers have seen game time. Emily Nelson is 1-1 with seven saves on the season and Jordyn Clark is 1-0 recording her first career shutout in the game against Viterbo.
 
After these two road games, the Bears will come back to Sea Foam Stadium for a game against Southwest Minnesota State on September 22^nd before heading back on the road to face Sioux Falls and Minnesota State.
 
Follow along online this weekend at cspbears.com/watch.