ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul soccer team is gearing up for the 2018 season, as they travel to Kearney, Nebraska for a pair of non-conference games to open the year. They will first take on Western State on August 31^st, before taking on the host school on September 2^nd.
 
The Golden Bears are coming off an impressive 2017 season, when the team recorded the highest winning percentage (.553) of any season in CSP's Division II history. The Bears finished the season with a 10-8-1 record, which included a record number of NSIC wins, with eight. Last season's record also marked the first time the team had finished with ten or more wins since the 2006 season. Their successful season was capped off by a playoff appearance, which was their second trip in three years and eighth trip as a program.
 
In the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Golden Bears were predicted to take another step forward in 2018, as they were picked to finish fifth in the conference. This was the highest pick that the Bears have received since the 2007 season, when they were estimated to finish fourth.
 
Entering the 2018 season, the Bears have 29 players on their roster. "We've got the biggest squad we've ever had, I think in the history of the program. Sometimes when you have that many players it's a different kind of environment. It's more competitive and the training that you do needs to be tailored a little bit differently, so we're putting the players in multiple competitive situations on a daily basis," remarked head coach Steve Bellis, who is in his eighth year leading the program. With this competitive environment, Bellis has been seeing a lot of positives, including seeing everybody fight hard for a starting position.
 
Within the Bears' large roster comes a lot of experience as the team returns 23 players from last year's squad, including returning nine different starters. With this level of experience, Bellis says "It's a good position to be in. We're not doing basic technical activities anymore. We're actually pushing them on a little bit and everything that we can do will be tactical and we can relate it to the game."
 
Among those returners are all ten players who scored throughout last season, led by seniors Jordan Rowan-Stafford and Jade Weller.  
 
Rowan-Stafford led the offense last season with 16 total points, earning All-NSIC second team honors. She found the back of the net five different times, while also setting up teammates on six occasions. Entering 2018, Rowan-Stafford ranks 11^th in school history in total points, 12^th in goals, and ninth in assists.
 
Weller, who also earned All-NSIC honors as a third team selection, was close behind Rowan-Stafford, with four goals, while also chipping in with two assists. Weller was also an important part of last year's defense, tallying the second most minutes of any player on the team.
 
Eight other players netted at least one goal last season, providing the Bears with some offensive depth and versatility. Coach Bellis is looking for that same spread out offense this season as well, saying "It has to be a collective effort. We like everybody to be involved." He is especially looking for seniors Brooke Salo and Mary Kaiser, as well as sophomore Kiara Myers and freshman Jena Berkland to be offensive threats.  
 
In addition to having the top two goal-scorers back for this season, CSP also gains senior Katri Gifford, who missed the majority of last season due to a knee injury.
 
"It's been great to see her over the last ten days get back into full stride. And if she can keep going the way she's going right now, I think she could be a real positive asset for us," Bellis commented about Gifford.
 
In the midfield, the Bears return All-NSIC third-teamer Haleigh Bares. In her rookie season, other coaches took notice of her aggressive play and smart tactical decisions, making her one of the four freshman players who was awarded with All-NSIC honors. Coach Bellis is also expecting Sammie Zgutowicz, Emily Boyer, Alexis Hayden, and Melissa Bear to contribute in the middle, giving the team a few different formation options.
 
"Haleigh has been outstanding in preseason and we'll rely on her a little bit, but it's nice to know that we have two or three players that can step in and help her out," Bellis says of his midfield depth.
 
Coach Bellis is also quite optimistic about his defense, and with good reason, as the backline returns three solid players in Weller, and juniors Anna Haub and Hannah Pavek. In addition to graduating senior Kelli Heytens, this group posted seven shutouts throughout the 2017 season. Towards the end of the season, junior Jackie Ehlert also saw increasing minutes. Sophomores Cayla Renwick and Maddie Mandoza and freshman Mary Keating add some extra depth on the defensive side as well.
 
"We work on defending with everybody. We expect our team to press high and put other teams under pressure quicker than ever before based on our physicality and fitness levels," Bellis said. He went on to add, "We've got six, or seven good defenders, and then if you add three strong goalkeepers into the mix, we should be quite defensively strong."
 
Two of those goalkeepers return from last season and the Bears add 5'9 freshman Sarah Golemme from Middleburg, Florida. Junior Emily Nelson recorded the most minutes in the 2017 season (1,013), going 7-3 on the year. She tallied five shutouts and 29 total saves. Junior Jordan Clark logged 740 minutes, making 24 saves for a .706 save percentage, finishing with a 3-5-1 record.
 
"Overall, we have more depth in every position. I think we'll see the positives of that, maybe not today, but sometime in the middle of October when we're having to use our squad size," says Bellis of his whole team.
 
To get ready for this upcoming season, the Golden Bears have been using a periodization training model. Coach Bellis went into more detail on this model, saying, "We're not going 100% all the time. We know when the players need to rest, when they need to work hard, and when we need to have fun. We're just finding that balance."
 
Coach Bellis also mentioned two other keys to the season in addition to the new training model that they have implemented, which includes having good team chemistry and making winning a habit. Bellis relies on his captains (Weller, Pavek, Salo, and Madyson St. Germain) to provide that encouragement and positivity both on and off the field to inspire that strong team chemistry. To make winning a habit, Bellis hopes to "get into that habit early on here this season, so that it will see use right as we go into conference play."
 
As the season gets going Concordia has two scrimmages scheduled with St. Olaf and Hamline, two well-coached Division III programs. Bellis commented on these scrimmages, saying "First and foremost we are looking for a competitive performance, making sure that it's at a collegiate standard in terms of the physicality, the speed of play, and the decision-making. More importantly, it gives players an opportunity to play against another college team."
 
The regular season opens with three non-conference games, the first two of which will be played this weekend at Nebraska Kearney. This will be the first time that the Golden Bears have played either Western State or Nebraska Kearney. In their final non-conference game, CSP will face Viterbo in La Crosse, Wisconsin. This will be the fifth year in a row that Concordia has faced Viterbo before the conference season, with the series being tied at 2-2 from the past four matchups.
 
The conference schedule starts quickly after the final non-conference game, as the Bears open with a home weekend, facing Upper Iowa on September 14^th and Winona State on September 16^th.
 
Bellis talked more on the conference, saying, "Every conference game is a challenge; there are no easy games in our conference. I think the level of soccer in the NSIC has improved dramatically over the last five years. Most teams are well-organized and well-structured, making it a challenge for us."
 
The Bears will face every team in the conference once and have an opportunity to advance to the NSIC Tournament if they finish within the top eight teams. The regular season concludes for the Bears on October 28^th against Augustana, with the postseason beginning on October 31^st. 
 
Coach Bellis concluded, "Come out and see us play. If you haven't seen a lot of soccer as a student or a Golden Bears fan, come and watch us play. It's fast, it's physical, it's fun. We have an excellent team this year and we hope to have good rapport with our fans."
 
Check back to cspbears.com for all of the latest soccer news this season, including game stories, links to live stats, and updated statistics throughout the year.