ST. CLOUD, Minn. - Concordia-St. Paul soccer (6-4-3, 5-2-2 NSIC) and the St. Cloud State Huskies (4-5-4, 3-3-4 NSIC) played to a 0-0 draw on Sunday afternoon at Husky Stadium.
The Golden Bears used a strong defensive performance to secure a shutout on the road. Sophomore
Sydney Manthana played a pivotal role in today's match for CSP defensively in the midfield. Sophomore
Ashlyn Waldon finished with a game-high five saves.
Coach Bellis stated, "It was a challenging game. We couldn't find any rhythm or connection with possession for long periods of time. However, it was a shutout and we certainly limited them with our tight defense and with a little luck. We probably should've broken the deadlock in the second half."
He concluded with a look to next week's matches by stating, "We can turn our attention to two big home games (UMary and Minot State) now."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Neither the Golden Bears nor the Huskies could find the goal in the first half of play. CSP held a 6-to-3 advantage over SCSU in shots.
The Golden Bears controlled the possession time early in the first half with shots from
Haley Rudebusch in the third minute and a headed attempt from
Tori Miller off a corner kick in the seventh minute.
Katie Anderson was the lone Golden Bear with a shot on goal in the first half with a strike in the 25th minute that was corralled by the Huskies keeper in the lower right corner of the goal.
Nikki Anderson and
Clare Snapko both attempted shots in the closing 15 minutes of the half, but neither player was able to put a shot on goal.
Waldon made her 12th start of the season and collected three saves to secure the first half shutout for the Golden Bears.
The Huskies started the second half with an offensive surge, as they were able to fire off the first three shots in the opening 15 minutes.
Sophie Pawlyshyn added the first shot on goal in the 58
th of the second half for the Golden Bears that was saved by the Huskies keeper in the top right corner of the goal.
After shots from K. Anderson and
Abby Kloiber failed to connect, N. Anderson nearly connected with the final shot of the match for the Golden Bears in the 77th minute, but the ball would deflect off the crossbar.
Waldon added two more saves to her stat line, bringing her total to five for the afternoon.
Harper Smoot and T. Miller both saw the field for the full 90 minutes for the Golden Bears. CSP's defense held SCSU to only seven shots with five of them on goal for the match's entirety.
PLAYERS OF NOTE
● K. Anderson finished with two shots (one on goal)
● Pawlyshyn also finished with a pair of shots (one on goal)
● N. Anderson had two shots in the match
● Waldon (6-4-2) collected five saves in her 12 starts this season as goalie
UP NEXT
The Golden Bears will return home to Sea Foam with matches against the UMary Marauders on Friday at 7 p.m. and the Minot State Beavers on Sunday at 1 p.m.
