ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The Golden Bears soccer team (3-1, 1-0 NSIC) won their first conference match of the year this Saturday 1-0 over St. Cloud at Husky Stadium. This marks the first time that Concordia-St. Paul has opened their conference schedule with a win since the 2010 season.
 
"It was really pleasing to come up with a goal off a set piece we've been working on all week. We were facing a stubborn and well-coached St. Cloud team and ultimately it was that set piece that decided the game. We're looking forward to our next game against Duluth and hopefully it will be a great weekend for Concordia soccer," Coach Bellis said after the game.
 
Saturday's victory was the first time Concordia-St. Paul has beaten the Huskies since 2008. The past three years these two teams have ended their contests in ties, but this year the Bears were able to get on the board first and hold onto the lead as time expired.
 
The first half was full of back and forth play, with a total of seven shots being taken by both teams. St. Cloud held the shot advantage (5-2), but both teams only had one shot on goal. Despite only taking two shots in the half, Concordia had a number of scoring opportunities. About halfway through the first half, junior Jordan Rowan-Stafford got past two St. Cloud defenders, but was tripped up by another Huskie player before she could get a shot off. The Bears also took three corner kicks in the half and had two free kicks that were passed into the opponent's box that kept the Huskies on their toes. The half ended scoreless.
 
The tie would soon be broken in the second half by a goal headed in by Golden Bear junior forward Brooke Salo off a free kick in the 54^th minute. This was Salo's first goal of the year and third career goal. Defender Jade Weller tallied her eighth career assist on the play, taking the free kick that set up the scoring chance for Salo.
 
St. Cloud also held the shot advantage in the second half (6-4), but the Golden Bear defense held strong as they thwarted every chance that the Huskies had. Four of the Huskies six shots in the half were on goal but were all saved by sophomore goalie Jordyn Clark.
 
Clark ended with five saves on the day to record her second career shutout and second shutout of the season. Clark earned her first ever shutout this past Monday night against Viterbo University. She is currently 2-0 on the year.  

The Golden Bears are back in action Sunday, September 17th at Minnesota Duluth at 1 p.m. Follow along online at cspbears.com/watch.