MANKATO, Minn. – In the opening round of the NSIC playoff tournament, the Concordia-St. Paul soccer team (10-6-4, 7-5-3 NSIC) fell to the #21 Minnesota State Mavericks (16-2-1, 13-1-1 NSIC) 4-0 on a sunny Wednesday afternoon at the Pitch in Mankato. With the loss, the Golden Bears are eliminated from the tournament but end the season with ten wins.
 
This is the second straight season that the Golden Bears have finished the year with double digit wins and the fifth time in the program's Division II era history. The team shattered the Concordia record for most shutouts in a season, with ten, and also set a new CSP record for lowest goals allowed average in a single season at 0.85.
 
Wednesday's game marked Concordia's 11^th appearance in the NSIC playoff tournament and third appearance in the last four years. The Bears last matched up with the Mavericks in the playoffs in 2015. This year's playoff matchup ended with a 4-0 win for the Mavericks, who will play Augustana in the semifinal round.
 
The Mavericks started with the majority of possession in the first half, eventually scoring in the 15^th minute when senior Morgan Cottew advanced on the net and got the ball past CSP goalie Emily Nelson, who had come out to try to stop the attack. The Concordia defense regrouped after that, not allowing another goal throughout the half.
 
On the offensive side, Concordia threatened in the middle and later part of the half, with senior Jordan Rowan-Stafford firing both on CSP's shots, one of which was blocked and the other that was saved by the Maverick goalie. Leah Johnson, Brooke Salo, and Hannah Pedersen also provided some offense, especially late in the half, getting the ball in the final third with some crosses that were disrupted by the MSU defense.
 
The second half belonged to the Mavericks, who scored three different times throughout the final 45 minute period. They opened their second half scoring in the 56^th minute when Cottew added her second goal of the game and tenth of the season. Freshman Jenny Vetter added another MSU goal less than ten minutes later to give the Mavericks a 3-0 lead.
 
The Bears stepped up their offense after this, firing the next four shots and putting an increasing amount of pressure on the Maverick defense and goalie. Despite holding a lot of the possession in the second part of the second half, Minnesota State managed to add another goal with only nine seconds left in the game, to make the final 4-0.
 
The Mavericks held a 17-7 overall edge in shots, including an 11-3 advantage in shots on goal. Rowan-Stafford and freshman Jena Berkland led the Bears on offense, each logging two shots and one on goal.
 
Nelson took the loss in net and ends the year with a 5-4-1 record, making a season-high seven saves throughout the contest.
 
The Golden Bears graduate eight seniors.

-Sam Fredrickson played in ten total matches for the Golden Bears throughout her freshman and sophomore seasons before her career was cut short due to injury. She remained an involved and important part of the team throughout the remainder of her career.

-Katri Gifford ends her career with six goals and five assists for a total of 17 points. The Lino Lakes native played a career-high 978 minutes this season and has tallied over 2,000 career minutes played.

-Mary Kaiser finishes her career with 2 goals and four assists. Two of those assists were recorded in the 2018 season, where she also logged 13 shots. The midfielder has over 3,000 minutes played throughout her career.

-Emily Nelson recorded 130 saves and 16 wins in net during her career for the Bears. She will graduate as first in CSP history in career goals against average (1.03) and third in most wins (16), while also holding the single season record for lowest goals allowed average (0.76).

-Jordan Rowan-Stafford led the team in goals (6) and points (13) during her senior season and finishes her career with the fifth-most goals in CSP history (17), as well as being tied for fifth-most assists (13) and tied for fourth-most game-winning goals (6).

-Brooke Salo finishes her career as a Golden Bear with nine goals and seven assists, while also being a captain for the 2018 season. Five of her career goals were scored during her senior season. Salo recorded over 4,400 minutes played and finished 2018 second on the team in goals (5) and points (11).  

-Madyson St. Germain was named a captain for her senior season and finishes her career with two assists, both of which were recorded during the 2017 season. St. Germain tallied over 1,500 minutes played throughout her career as a midfielder for the Bears.  

-Jade Weller finishes her Concordia career as the all-time leader in minutes played (6,634), while also being tied for eighth in points (37) and tied for ninth in goals (14). Weller was a consistent member of the backline that broke the CSP record for most shutouts in a season, helping the team tally 10 shutouts in 2018.