ST. PAUL, Minn.- The Concordia women's soccer team (2-2-1, 1-0-1 NSIC) looks to host their first conference matches of the season at home this weekend. The Golden Bears will first face the University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles (1-4, 1-1 NSIC) on Friday, Sep. 24 at 7 p.m. They will then play the #15 Bemidji State University Beavers (5-0, 2-0 NSIC) on Sunday, Sep. 26 at 1 p.m.
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.
HOME OPENER OUTLOOK
The CSP squad will return to home after a weekend on the road where they split with Augustana (S.D.) 1-1 in 2OT and won against Wayne State (Neb.) 1-0. The Golden Bears also sit atop the conference currently.
Head Coach Steve Bellis was enthusiastic about returning home this weekend. "On the back of a long road trip, we are super excited to start our conference home games this weekend!"
In program history, the Golden Bears are 14-6-2 against the Golden Eagles, with a current win streak of three. The last loss against UMC came on Sep. 25, 2015 on the road with a final score of 0-2. Conversely, the last two wins for the Golden Bears (Oct. 14, 2018 and Oct. 20, 2019) have come as 2-0 wins, at home and away.
Crookston will be traveling to St. Paul after falling to Northern State University 0-4 on Sep. 19 on the road. On the season, they have won only twice while being away.
Freshman defender Abby Fettinger and junior forward Morgan Laplante both lead their squad with one goal in 2021. Fettinger ranks 18th in the NSIC in shots on goal with six in five games, averaging 1.20 a match.
In net for the Golden Eagles is Abby Olsen, a sophomore from Chisago City, Minn., who has made 28 saves and allowed 12 goals for a .700 save percentage.
"Crookston will be a tough nut to crack," mentioned Bellis. "[They] have recently shown some resilience and been hard to beat."
As the Golden Bears look at face #15 Bemidji State following the Friday match against Crookston, the Beavers will first face Minnesota State on Friday in Mankato.
"Bemidji State is one of our main rivals," said Bellis, reminding fans "we play for a pig trophy!"
Overall, the record between CSP and BSU is 9-12-2, with favor to the Beavers. In the last match between the two squads on Oct. 18, 2019, however, the Golden Bears netted a second-half goal to give them a 1-0 victory. That goal was assisted by senior defender Cayla Renwick.
Per the conference website, Katie Anderson still leads the league in shots (30) and shots on goal (13) while she places second in goals (four).
Bemidji State senior forward Sara Wendt currently out-paces Anderson to lead the league with eight goals in five games played. She also places third in the NSIC in shots (21) and shots on goal (12) behind teammate Allyson Smith, a redshirt senior forward, who has 23 shots and 13 shots on goal. Both players will need to be shut down by the CSP defense.
For the Beavers, Alyssa Stumbaugh, a junior from Gillette, Wyo., has found herself in 9th place in the league for goalkeepers. In four games played, she has 15 saves and four goals against with a .789 save percentage.
On the coaching staff, Bellis said, "Coach Stone [and I] go way back so it's always a fun game and one we are pumped for!"
BSU Head Coach Jim Stone enters his 20th season with the Beavers and is the winningest coach in program history. He has led his squad to their first national ranking and NCAA Division II Tournament appearance in 2017 and their first win in the D-II Tournament in 2018. Under his leadership, the Beavers have only missed the NSIC Tournament once in the last 13 seasons.
Lastly, Coach Bellis commented, "I really hope we can fill the Foam and get our fans out of their seats this weekend. Go, Bears!"
Following the home stint, the Bears will go back on the road the next weekend for a series against Northern State (S.D.) and MSU Moorhead on Friday, Oct. 1 and Sunday, Oct. 3.
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