ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul soccer team (5-1-2, 2-1-2 NSIC) took their first loss of the year to Minot State (5-2-2, 3-2-1 NSIC) in overtime on a chilly Friday night at Sea Foam Stadium. The Golden Bears were aggressive offensively, firing 14 shots during the game, but it was the Beavers who converted in overtime to come away with the win.
The Beavers are now 7-0 when facing the Bears, with this being the fourth straight game between the two teams that was decided by a 1-0 score. It was, however, the first time that CSP and Minot have needed overtime to find a winner.
This was the Bears' third straight game that had gone to overtime, as they tied both St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth on the road last weekend, playing double overtimes in both contests. Tonight's game was decided in the first overtime, with senior Haley Berryman putting away a header from a set piece pass from teammate Audrey Wilson.
The first half was filled with offensive chances for the Golden Bears, starting with a goal being called off due to offsides in the second minute of play. A little over two minutes later senior
Jade Weller got a shot off from a set piece, but it was blocked by a Minot defender. Overall, the Bears held a 6-1 shot advantage in the half, although neither team was able to put a shot on net.
The Bears continued their pressure in the second half, holding a 7-5 edge in shots.
Kiara Myers and
Katri Gifford both put up shots that missed wide, and later in the half Weller and
Mary Kaiser fired rockets that missed high. The Beavers did take more shots in the second half, while also having three corner kick opportunities, but the defense only allowed one shot on goal, which was saved by junior goalkeeper
Emily Nelson.
In overtime, the Bears struck first, as Gifford took a shot that missed wide. The Beavers answered with a threat of their own and a CSP foul gave them a free kick. They took advantage of this chance, as Wilson put up a good ball that was headed in by Berryman, giving them the 1-0 win.
Nelson took the loss for Concordia in net, making one save throughout the game. She is now 1-1-1 on the season.
To finish off the conference weekend, the Golden Bears will take on the UMary Marauders at Sea Foam Stadium at 1 p.m. The game is the team's youth soccer day, where admission for youth aged 11-13 is $1 and kids 10 and under are free. If you are unable to make it out to the game, you can watch live at cspbears.com/watch.
