MARSHALL, Minn. – A goal by freshman Jena Berkland and two from senior Jade Weller helped the Concordia-St. Paul soccer team (7-1-3, 4-1-3 NSIC) defeat Southwest Minnesota State (3-8, 3-6 NSIC) 3-0 at the Schwan Regional Event Center on Sunday afternoon. The Golden Bears now have 15 conference points on the year and are in fifth place in the NSIC.
 
With the win, the Bears move closer to evening up the series with the Mustangs, as CSP now has a 10-11-1 record when facing SMSU. The Golden Bears earned their sixth win over the Mustangs on the road, and are an even .500 when playing in Marshall.
 
The defense tallied another 90 minutes of shutout soccer, and have now played 290 straight minutes without allowing a goal. This is their seventh shutout of the season, which is tied for the CSP Division II era record, which was also done by the Golden Bears in the 2017, 2007, 2006, and 2004 seasons.  
 
The first half was an offensively active 45 minutes for the Bears, as they fired 12 shots throughout the period. Freshman Jena Berkland tallied four of those twelve shots, each of which were on goal. Her fourth attempt was successful, taking a pass from Leah Johnson and scoring in the 26^th minute to give CSP a 1-0 lead. The defense also had a strong half, only allowing one shot which was saved by junior goalkeeper Emily Nelson.
 
Berkland now has four goals on the season and is tied for the most goals (4) and points (9) on the team with senior Brooke Salo. Johnson picked up her third assist of the season on the play.
 
Southwest Minnesota State saw more opportunities in the second half, taking three shots, but none were on goal. The Bears, however, continued their first half pressure and were rewarded with two additional goals, both being scored by Weller.
 
The first came in the 68^th minute when the Bears were awarded a penalty kick, which Weller fired over the top of the goalie to put CSP up 2-0. This was the first penalty kick goal that the Prior Lake native has scored since her freshman season.
 
Her second goal of the game happened a little over ten minutes later, when she scored from outside of the box, lofting a shot over the goalie's head in the 80^th minute. Weller now has three goals on the year and 13 for her career, which is tied for ninth-most of any CSP player in school history.
 
Concordia finished the game with a 19-4 advantage in shots and a 12-1 edge in shots on goal. The 12 shots on goal marks the most shots on net of any game for the Bears so far this season. The win was a team effort, as 24 different players saw time on the field and ten different players took at least one shot throughout the game.
 
Nelson recorded the win in net for the Bears and is now 2-1-1 on the year. This was her third shutout this season and has only allowed one goal through over 450 minutes of play for a 0.19 goals allowed average.  
 
The Golden Bears do not have much of a break before they are back in action, as they will face Minnesota State at home on Tuesday, October 9^th. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Live stat and video links can be found at the top of the page or on the soccer schedule page.