ST. JOSEPH, MO. – The Concordia-St. Paul soccer team (0-1) opened the 2021 season on the road as they headed south to take on the Missouri Western State Griffons (1-0) on Friday night. The game was part of the Stoney Creek Hotel Classic. Though the Golden Bears struck first, the Griffons scored twice to take the victory.
 
The opening loss on the road adds to Missouri Western State's win streak against CSP, extending it to two. The first time the Griffons beat the Golden Bears was back on Sep. 3, 2006, exactly 15 years to the day.
 
The first half of the match showed an even attempt by both squads. Though back and forth, each team recorded one goal and six shots with the Griffons responding to the goal by Katie Anderson to even scoring in the 28^th minute.
 
Though surrendering a goal in the second half, the CSP squad kept applying the pressure, peppering the MWSU net with eight shots and four on goal. The Golden Bear offense put in effort down the pitch, attempting 14 shots and putting nine on goal, outpacing their opponents by five total shots by the match's end.
 
Anderson, the sole scorer and the eighth all-time leading scorer for the Golden Bears, managed to find the back of the net in the top left of the frame early on at 9:32 to give CSP the lead, giving her squad the first goal of the 2021 season and the first goal in over a year. She also led on the pitch with six shots and three on goal.
 
Concordia-St. Paul will continue to play in the Stoney Creek Hotel Classic in St. Joseph. The next matchup will be against Emporia State (Kan.) on Sunday at noon. Emporia State opened their season with a win against Rockhurst with a 1-0 final score on Friday.