ST. PAUL, Minn.- The Concordia-St. Paul women's soccer team (9-6-2, 8-4-2 NSIC) will host Minnesota State (14-2-1, 12-1-1 NSIC) on Friday, Nov. 5 at 5 p.m. to close out the 2021 regular season. The Golden Bears head into the weekend after a successful weekend sweep against Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls. 

Being the last home match of the season, CSP will have a special spotlight for eight Golden Bears who will be graduating. The Senior Night program will honor Jena Berkland, Cayla Renwick, Lauryn Thompson, Ailee Snapko, Beth Weller, Katie Glowinski, Ciara Bailey, and Sarah Golemme. 

CSP IN THE NSIC STANDINGS 
As it sits currently, Concordia-St. Paul is tied for fifth place in the conference with UMary, each with 26 points, trailing Minot State in fourth place with 29 points. Should Concordia and Mary earn wins, both teams would advance to tie Minot State in fourth. 

UMary, having beaten CSP earlier in the season, would then possess a hypothetical 2-0-0 record against Minot State and CSP which would give them hosting privileges as the fourth seed in the first round of the NSIC tournament, with Minot State and Concordia being locked in at an 0-1-1 record in the three-way tie scenario, and also having tied earlier in the year in Minot with the NSIC breaking final seeding ties. CSP has clinched a spot in the eight team conference tournament- visit the league website www.northernsun.org on Friday evening for final NSIC Tournament first round pairings, locations and game times.

WATCH ONLINE – NSIC NETWORK
All Golden Bear soccer games will be available to watch online, free of charge, powered by the NSIC Network, supported by BlueFrame Technology. Visit nsicnetwork.com/cspbears on a laptop or desktop computer, download the NSIC Network app on your mobile device or watch on your supported OTT provider such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Search "NSIC Network" and download the app for the league's full sport and team lineups. 
 
All home games will feature the play-by-play broadcasting provided by Dan Flanagan, the voice of the Golden Bears for over a decade. The St. Paul, Minnesota native studied broadcasting at Fordham University (N.Y.) where he was the voice of the Rams' football and basketball teams in the NCAA Division I Patriot League.
 
DOWNLOAD THE APP
Fans can download the CSP Bears fan app, free of charge and available in the App Store or on Google Play. The app contains rosters, schedules, scores, stats, news, social media and more! Customize your options to get notifications to your favorite teams, as well. Search "CSP Bears" in the app store to stay up-to-date on Golden Bear athletics.
 
BUY TICKETS TO HOME GAMES ONLINE
New this year to Golden Bears is online ticketing. Buy tickets in advance and bring your QR code to the gates to skip the line! Friends and families who utilize the pass list will also be utilizing the online ticketing service while all students, faculty & staff will access their free CSP tickets through the service. Fans do not need to create a login, remember a username or password or download an app to purchase tickets, and tickets can still be purchased with cash at the gates. Find out more in the partnership announcement between CSP Athletics and HomeTown Ticketing.

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS 
As the 2021 regular season comes to a close, the Mavericks (37 points) find themselves sitting in the second position in the NSIC rankings, narrowly trailing first ranked Bemidji State by one point. Minnesota State's only NSIC loss to Augustana is the difference maker. 

Ahead of the Friday faceoff, Head Coach Steve Bellis commented, "We are excited for the game! Historically we have always enjoyed great games vs Mankato. Hopefully it will be a springboard for the playoffs." 

In program history, the Golden Bears have had one win over the Maverick squad. However, that victory came in the 2019 season with a 1-0 score on the road. The deciding goal game from current Golden Bear sophomore forward Katie Anderson in her first collegiate season. 

Concordia-St. Paul last faced Minnesota State in the 2019 NSIC Championship game on November 17 where the Mavericks scored three and shutout the Bears. Jenny Vetter, Minnesota State's current point leader, scored twice in the match. 

Vetter, a junior forward, commands 35 points for the Mavericks with 16 goals and three assists in 17 games played. She is tied for first in the conference with Sara Wendt in game-winning goals, each with seven, while also being tied for the NSIC lead in goals with the Beaver. Vetter places first in the league with 35 total points, sixth for shots (59), and fourth for shots on goal (33). 

Defensively, the Mavericks have managed only one loss in NSIC play while holding their opponents to only 10 goals, compared to their squad's 42. Defenders Kelly Friedrich, Libby Spangler, and Olivia Thoen have collectively controlled the defensive minutes for their squad. In 10 games played, Thoen ranks 19th in the NSIC with four assists. 

The Minnesota State net has been shared this season primarily between sophomore Mackenzie Ruth who has 11 games started and freshman Clare Longueville who has six. 

Through her 994 minutes played, Rath boasts a 0.362 goals against average with only four goals against, 46 saves, 9 wins, one loss, one tie, and seven shutouts (third best in the conference). Rath also commands the first place positions in the NSIC for her goals against average and saves. 

Longueville has played 517 minutes on the season and has allowed six goals in six games, while making 23 saves (0.793 SV%) and facing 57 shots. She has a record of five wins and one tie in 2021. 

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