Fayette, Iowa. – To finish off the non-conference portion of their schedule, the Concordia-St. Paul soccer team took on the Davenport Panthers and came away with a 3-2 win on a sunny, Sunday afternoon. Three different Golden Bears scored throughout the game to help CSP to a 3-0 start.
 
This is the second straight season that the Golden Bears have posted a 3-0 record. This marks the second straight game that CSP has scored three goals, the Golden Bears scored three or more goals three times last season.
 
This is the second year in a row that Concordia has swept its three non-conference games to start the season. Concordia came away with a couple of victories against two new opponents for the first time in program history, Missouri-St. Louis and Davenport. The Golden Bears also defeated the Parkside Rangers for the first time in program history on Friday, CSP is now 1-4-1 in their history against Parkside. 


The Golden Bears' offense started strong in the first half, dominating much of the possession and firing eight shots in the first half. The Panthers fought back, though, and the shot margin was within three at the half, with the Bears holding an 8-5 edge after the first 45 minutes. 
 
Hanna Pedersen got the scoring going early for the golden bears as she took a pass from Leah Johnson and buried it in the back of the net at the eight-minute mark to put the Golden Bears up early 1-0. It was Pedersen's first goal on the season and Johnson's first assist of the year. Four minutes later, Ashlyn Skidmore tied it up for Davenport as she got a shot past Concordia's goalkeeper, Jordyn Clark. That goal snapped Concordia's consecutive 192-minute shutout streak. The Golden Bears would respond four minutes later as freshman Nikki Anderson scored her first collegiate goal of her career, she was assisted by Hannah Pedersen. CSP would finish the first half strong with sophomore Jena Berkland getting in on the scoring action as she scored her first goal of the season with an assist from senior defenseman, Hannah Pavek, at the 35-minute mark. The Golden Bears would close out the first half leading the Panthers 3-1.
 
In the second half, Panthers offense was relentless, holding an 8-4 advantage in shots. Davenport made things interesting with a goal from Natalia Casiello at the 63-minute mark to make it a one score game. Jordyn Clark and the Golden Bears defense bared down in the remaining 30 minutes to hold off the Panthers and to capture the 3-2 victory. 
 
The Panthers held the edge in total shots with a 13-12 margin, Concordia put 10 shots on net and Davenport put up 8. Clark played all 90 minutes while reordering six saves and faced one corner kick as she captured her third win of the season and the 12^thof her career. Samantha Beckles for the Panthers made seven saves as she suffered the loss.
 
Jena Berkland, Hannah Pedersen, and Nikki Anderson led the way for the Golden Bears offense as they each put two shots on net, and they each recorded their first goal of the season. Sophie Pawlyshyn also recorded three shots, two of which were on net, Leah Johnson and Kayla Renwick also recoded shots on net as well. 
 
Leah Johnson was named weekend MVP, she recorded two goals and an assist on the weekend. She leads the team with three goals and seven points. 
 
The Golden Bears head coach, Steve Bellis, commented on his team's performance, "It was a positive weekend for us and an opportunity to see so many players in action. The offensive threats are coming from so many players and it's wonderful to see."   
 
The conference schedule opens next week with the Golden Bears traveling back to Iowa to take on the Upper Iowa Peacocks on Friday, they will then travel to Winona State on Sunday to close out the weekend.