MANKATO, Minn. - Concordia-St. Paul soccer (9-6-4, 6-4-4 NSIC) advanced to the NSIC Tournament semifinals with a 2-1 win over No. 19 Minnesota State (11-3-5, 9-1-4 NSIC) at Maverick All-Sport Dome on Monday.
 
The Golden Bears will return to action on Friday at 11 a.m. to face the University of Mary Marauders at Huskie Stadium in St. Cloud, Minnesota. For more information and updates on the NSIC Tournament, follow along at CSPBears.com.
 
"It was a big win for sure. Mankato was a well-coached and well-organized team. They were tough to beat and nationally ranked, so it was always going to be a tricky one," stated Head Coach Steve Bellis following the match.
 
Bellis added, "I thought we had the better of the 90 in terms of possession and in terms of playing soccer. I thought we got the ball down quickly and kind of played to our tactical plan pretty well. Then, when it goes 1-1, you know we were heading to overtime, and to be honest with you, it was a wonderful strike from Corynn that put us in the next round.
 
"It's exciting and we want to go on and win a few more games as well. It was a great game with a lot of grit and determination shown by the entire squad," Bellis concluded.
 
Concordia claimed the second win in program history and avenged a heart-breaking 1-0 loss that they suffered to the Mavericks early this season at Sea Foam Stadium. In addition, with today's win, CSP snapped a three-game losing streak to MSU and claimed their first win in the series since the 2019 campaign.
 
Jessi Jordan (6-6-3) had a stellar 90-minute performance in her 16th start in goal this season. The junior (graduating) goalkeeper collected seven saves in the match, the second most that she has had this season for the Golden Bears.
 
Senior Katie Anderson added her 34th career and conference-leading 12th goal of the season this afternoon. The San Diego native finished with match-leading six shots (two on goal) during her 81-minute stint on the pitch.
 
Corynn Grabau added her sixth goal of the season and third game-winner of the season. The junior (graduating) finished with three shots and also tallied 81 minutes on the pitch for Concordia.
 
In the first half, the two clubs traded possession back-and-forth in the early going. However, in the 30th minute, Sammy Ponsonby was able to notch her first assist of the season after Anderson netted the first goal of the match that sailed over MSU goalie Mackenzie Rath before finding the upper left part of the goal to put the Golden Bears ahead, 1-0.
 
CSP kept the momentum rolling into the latter part of the half with four shots that included a pair of on-goal shots by Ponsonby and Anderson. Minnesota State attempted to even the match with shots by Addison Clarley and Maddix Archer, but Jordan denied their attempts with a pair of saves to hold the lead heading into the halftime break.
 
In the second half, both teams again traded possessions and shots in the opening minutes. Jordan made a miraculous save in the 52nd minute that helped swing the momentum back in favor of the Golden Bears.
 
Minnesota State found a way to even the game at one goal apiece with a penalty kick goal from Allie Williams in the 75th minute following a CSP foul inside of the box. However, Grabau answered with the game-winning goal in the 81st minute, and the Golden Bears' defense held strong for the remainder of the match as they secured their spot in the NSIC Tournament semifinal with a 2-1 victory over the Mavericks in Mankato.