ST. PAUL, Minn. - CSP soccer (7-6-5, 7-4-4 NSIC) will get an immediate rematch with the #13 Minnesota State Mavericks (13-1-4, 11-0-4 NSIC) in the first round of the NSIC Conference Tournament. The match will take place at the Maverick Sports Complex-The Pitch on Halloween (10/31) at 1 p.m.
"At the beginning of our season, we took the opportunity to have our players set some individual and team goals," Head Coach
Steve Bellis commented. "Without a doubt making the conference playoffs was featured heavily, so it's a positive and satisfying first step that we have been able to meet that goal."
"Yet again, the NSIC has proved to be a very competitive and challenging conference," Bellis added. "We are super excited to play with the best of the best and keep looking ahead to achieving more goals."
BUY TICKETS TO HOME GAMES ONLINE
Fans are encouraged to 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.
WATCH ONLINE – NSIC NETWORK
All Golden Bear NSIC soccer 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.
NSIC NETWORK FAQ
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.
NSIC CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
The Golden Bears head into the conference with the #8 seed after falling to the #13 Minnesota State Mavericks on Thursday afternoon by a score of 1-0. The Mavericks were declared the 2022 NSIC Regular Season Champions with the win and claimed the #1 seed over Bemidji State. The winner of that contest will face the winner of Minot State and Northern State on Friday, November 4th at 2 p.m..
CSP has a record of 5-12 in the NSIC tournament dating back to the 1999 season. The Golden Bears claimed their first tournament victory against Minnesota State-Moorhead with a 3-1 win at Concordia Field on October 24, 2006. They added their second win and a third-place finish four days later with a 1-0 2OT win over Wayne State.
In 2019, the #20 Golden Bears were the NSIC Regular Season Champions and made their longest push in the tournament. CSP notched a 2-0 win over Wayne State in the quarterfinals and a 2-1 win over St. Cloud State in the semifinal match. However, they would drop the championship game 3-0 to Minnesota State.
Last season, the Golden Bears went 1-1 in the tournament. They picked up a 1-0 upset victory over the Minot State before falling to the #9 Bemidji State Beavers 1-0.
Corynn Grabau scored CSP's goal in the tournament against Minot State with assists coming from Ciara Bailey and
Sophie Pawlyshyn. Goalie
Ashlyn Waldon recorded a shutout with five saves against MSU and added three more saves against BSU.
SEASON LEADERS
Katie Anderson leads the team and is 10th in the conference with 16 points this season. The junior leads the conference with 82 shots and is second in the conference with 37 shots on goal this season. She is currently tied for seventh in the conference with seven goals, tying her season-best from a year ago, and became the Golden Bears' fourth all-time leading scorer (22 goals) with her final goal of the regular season against Upper Iowa (10/3). The San Diego native is also sixth all-time for the Golden Bears in points with 49 (22 goals,5 assists).
Nikki Anderson is second on the team in points with 14 this season. The junior (graduating) is ninth in the conference with 46 shots and tied for 12th with 20 shots on goal. She has notched six goals this season, making her the sixth all-time leading scorer in CSP history with 18 total career goals. With her goal assist against Sioux Falls (10/23), she moved into eight all-time for the Golden Bears in points with 40 (18 goals, 4 assists).
Pawlyshyn is third on the team with 10 total points this season. The junior has recorded 36 shots (20 on goal) in 1243 minutes of play. She leads the conference with six assists this season and has recorded two goals for the Golden Bears. Her 12 career assists is tied for 11th all-time with Chelsie Lindsay in Concordia-St. Paul history.
Grabau has five total points off two goals and an assist. The sophomore forward has started in seven games for the Golden Bears this season and has accumulated 743 minutes on the field. She leads all starters with a .706 on-goal percentage, as 12 of her 17 shots this season have been on goal. She ranks 15th all-time in CSP history with a 0.55 (33 games) points per game average.
Sammy Ponsonby has accumulated five points this season in 518 minutes of play. The sophomore forward has scored two goals and an assist this season in 16 appearances (three starts) for the Golden Bears.
Captain
Tori Miller has seen the field the most for the Golden Bears this season with 1572 total minutes. She has been an anchor on the defensive side of the ball, helping the Golden Bears to four shutouts this season.
Waldon has appeared 14 times in the goal for the Golden Bears. The senior holds a 6-6-3 overall record this season and has three shutout victories. She holds a .97 goals-against average after facing 130 shots. The sophomore (graduating) is first
in CSP history with a goals-against average of .75 throughout 16 games and 1931 minutes, second in ties with five, fifth with a .826 save percentage and seventh in most wins with 10 total.
HISTORY BETWEEN CSP AND MSU
The two programs have met a total of 21 times dating back to September 10, 2002, and the Golden Bears hold a 1-19-1 record against the Mavericks. MSU claimed a 9-0 victory over the Golden Bears in the inaugural match against CSP in Mankato. The Golden Bears were able to claim their lone victory in the series against the Mavericks in the 2019 season, claiming a 1-0 win on the road. Last Friday in the regular season finale, the Mavericks claimed a 1-0 win over the Golden Bears in Mankato with a goal in the 59th minute.
In the postseason, CSP and MSU have met twice dating back to 2018. The #21 Mavericks claimed the first postseason meeting on October 31, 2018, with a 4-0 decision in Mankato. A year later, the #20 Golden Bears hosted the Mavericks at Sea Foam Stadium, but MSU would use a 3-0 win to claim the NSIC Conference Tournament Championship.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS
Minnesota State posted an 18-3-2 (12-1-2 NSIC) record in the 2021 campaign and was picked to finish first in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The Mavericks used a 13-1-4 (11-0-4 NSIC) record and 37 points to claim the 2022 NSIC Regular Season Championship.
MSU leads the conference in both goals scored with 48 and the least number of goals allowed with eight this season.
They come into the matchup with a four-match winning streak, outscoring their opponents 10-0 in those games. Their largest margin of victory was 7-0 against Minnesota Crookston and they are coming off a 1-0 win over the Golden Bears.
The player to watch for MSU for the second game in a row is Jenny Vetter. The senior forward leads the NSIC with 25 total points (11 goals, three assists). Her 10 goals and 38 shots on goal also are the best in the NSIC. Vetter's goal off a corner kick from Brynn Desens in the 59th minute helped propel the Mavericks over the Golden Bears last Thursday.
