CROOKSTON, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul soccer team (8-3-3, 5-3-3 NSIC) returned to their winning ways with a 2-0 road victory over Minnesota Crookston (1-11-2, 1-8-2 NSIC) on Sunday afternoon. With two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Golden Bears are tied for fifth place in the NSIC with St. Cloud State with 18 points.
 
Concordia improves their all-time record against Minnesota Crookston to 13-6-2, moving to 6-3-1 when playing in Crookston. This is the second year in a row that the Golden Bears have defeated the Golden Eagles by more than one goal.
 
This was the team's eighth shutout so far this season, which breaks Concordia's Division II era record for shutouts in a single season. So far, the Golden Bears have only allowed ten goals through 14 games, for a 0.71 goals allowed average on the year.
 
It was senior Jordan Rowan-Stafford who put CSP on the board first, taking a pass from freshman Jena Berkland and putting the ball in the lower corner of the net to give the Bears a 1-0 lead. This was the Oakdale native's fourth goal of the season and Berkland's second career assist.  
 
The Bears continued to threaten in the first half, taking three more shots and a corner kick before the break. Senior Brooke Salo was especially close to scoring, taking a pass from Hannah Pedersen and firing an open shot from within the box, but it was saved by UMC's Athena DiMario Done, who had eight saves on the day. Despite the chances, CSP headed into halftime with a 1-0 lead.  
 
The Golden Bears came out even more aggressive in the second half, holding a 16-0 advantage in shots throughout the second 45-minute period. CSP also had five corner kick opportunities in the half, putting ample pressure on the Golden Eagle defense.
 
Their efforts finally paid off when Rowan-Stafford scored again, this time taking a pass from sophomore Cayla Renwick and scoring within the box in the 73^rd minute of play. Scoring for the fifth time this season, Rowan-Stafford now leads Concordia in both goals and points (11). Renwick, who scored three times in her freshman campaign, added her first collegiate assist as well as her first point of the 2018 season.
 
Rowan-Stafford was a constant offensive threat in the game, taking a career-high ten shots, which is tied for third most of any CSP player in any game. With the goals, Rowan-Stafford continues to climb up the CSP record book, as she is now tied for fifth in Concordia history with 16 career goals.
 
In addition to Rowan-Stafford, eight other CSP players recorded shots in the win, with Salo, Berkland, Jade Weller, and Katri Gifford tallying more than one.
 
Emily Nelson earned the win in goal and is now 3-1-1 on the year. The 5'4 junior made three saves throughout the contest, on her way to recording her fourth full shutout of the season.
 
The Golden Bears have two weekends remaining of regular season play, with three of their four games being played at home. Visiting Sea Foam Stadium first will be MSU Moorhead and Northern State. CSP will face the Dragons on Friday at 7 p.m. and then will take on the Wolves on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both games will have live video and stats, with links that can be found on the soccer schedule page.