ST. PAUL, Minn. – After a pair of road games, the Concordia-St. Paul soccer team (7-1-3, 4-1-3 NSIC) is returning to Sea Foam Stadium to take on the Minnesota State Mavericks (9-1-1, 7-0-1 NSIC) on Tuesday, October 9^th at 7 p.m. This will be the Golden Bears' only weekday contest of the regular season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Bears are coming off a 1-0-1 weekend, where they tied Sioux Falls 0-0 on Friday, but then rallied to come up with a 3-0 win over Southwest Minnesota State on Sunday. With the four conference points, Concordia moves into fifth place in the NSIC with 15 total points.
 
CSP dominated much of the possession in their last two games, holding a 47-11 edge in shots and 21-2 advantage in shots on goal, allowing just one shot on goal in each game. Defensively, the Bears recorded their sixth and seventh shutouts of the season, tying the Concordia Division II era record for most shutouts in a season.
 
Against USF, the Bears fired 28 total shots, which is the most of any game this season, but were unable to capitalize on any of these chances and the game ended in a tie. In the overtime frames, CSP did not allow the Cougars to take a single shot, while firing nine shots of their own.
 
In Sunday's game against SMSU, the Golden Bears totaled 12 shots on net, which is their highest mark of the year so far in this category. Unlike Friday, three of those shots found the back of the net to propel the team to a 3-0 win. Freshman Jena Berkland scored first in the 26^th minute, giving Concordia a 1-0 lead heading into halftime. Senior Jade Weller would then score twice in the second half, first putting away a penalty kick in the 68^th minute and then scoring again 12 minutes later.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
If you are unable to make it out to Sea Foam Stadium, the game can be watched online, free of charge at www.cspbears.com/watch. Live statistics will also be available at www.cspbears.com/livesoc. Or, follow along on the CSP Bears gameday fan app.
 
MINNESOTA STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Bears are looking for their first win over the Mavericks, as Minnesota State has been victorious in all 15 of their meetings. However, in their last two matchups, each game ended with a 1-0 decision. With the exception of contests in 2003 and 2015, every time that the teams have played in St. Paul the game has been decided by only one goal.
 
LAST MEETING WITH MSU
Last year's matchup in Mankato featured a 1-0 final that favored Minnesota State, who was ranked 13^th in the country at the time. In the first half the Mavericks kept goalkeeper Jordyn Clark incredibly busy, firing 12 shots her way. Despite these chances, the Bears held strong through the first 39 minutes, getting off three shots of their own. In the 40^th minute, MSU converted on one of their opportunities when Julia Zach took a pass from Taylor Kenealy and found the back of the net, giving the Mavericks a 1-0 lead at halftime.
 
The Bears made some adjustments at the break, only allowing five shots throughout the second half. Neither team was able to score throughout the final 45 minutes, giving MSU the 1-0 win. The Mavericks finished the game with a 17-6 edge in shots, however both teams took an even four shots on goal.
 
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS
Minnesota State is 9-1-1 on the year and 7-0-1 in conference play. Currently they sit in second place in the NSIC with 22 conference points. Entering Tuesday's game the Mavericks are coming off a big 9-1 win over Southwest Minnesota State and a 1-0 win over Sioux Falls. Their only loss of the year so far has been against #1 Central Missouri. The Golden Bears and the Mavericks have played all the same conference opponents so far this year, and have both defeated SMSU, UMary, Upper Iowa, and Winona State. The Mavericks also tied with St. Cloud State, but defeated Minot State, Sioux Falls, and Minnesota Duluth, unlike the Bears. 
 
The Mavericks have scored 33 goals so far this season, with 13 different players contributing at least one goal. Their top scorer is junior Dakota Wendell who has scored six times so far this season. Her six goals ranks tied for fifth in the NSIC. Seniors Julia Zach and Morgan Cottew are also major offensive threats, combining for 30 points this season.    
 
Junior Alexa Rabune has been their main goalkeeper, starting in all 11 of their games this season. She has allowed seven goals so far and has made 36 saves for a .836 save percentage, which ranks seventh in the conference.
 
KEY STATS
-With their sixth and seventh shutouts this past weekend, the 2018 team has tied the CSP Division II record for most shutouts in a season, which was also done in the 2017, 2007, 2006, and 2004 seasons.
-Freshman Jena Berkland scored her fourth goal of the year against SMSU, and is now tied with senior Brooke Salo to lead the team in goals (4) and points (9). Berkland leads the Bears in game-winning goals with three.
-Jade Weller scored twice against SMSU and now has three goals and six points on the year. One of her goals was a penalty kick goal, which is the first she has scored since her freshman season.
-The team took their highest number of shots (28) on the year against USF and took their highest amount of shots on goal (12) against SMSU.
-The defense has now compiled 290 straight minutes of shutout soccer and leads the NSIC in lowest goals allowed average at 0.36.
-The Golden Bears only allowed one shot on goal in their last two contests.
-CSP's goalies rank first and second in the NSIC in goals allowed average, as Emily Nelson leads the conference at 0.19 and Jordyn Clark is a close second at 0.46.