ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia-St. Paul soccer (3-3-2, 1-1-1 NSIC) returns home this weekend to host the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs and the St. Cloud State Huskies at Sea Foam Stadium. Action against UMD on Friday is scheduled at 6 p.m. Sunday's match against SCSU will take place at 1 p.m.
 
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.
 
RECAP OF THE WEEK
The Golden Bears finished last week 1-0-1 with a pair of shutouts on the road that included a 2-0 win against the Minnesota State Moorhead Dragons.
 
Game One: CSP 2, MSUM 0
Concordia-St. Paul soccer notched their third shutout victory of the season with the 2-0 victory against the Dragons at Nemzek Soccer Field in Moorhead last Friday.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Kayla Matuzak tallied her second shutout of the season as she stopped all four Dragon shots on goal as the team registered their third clean sheet overall and fifth game allowing a goal or less in the first seven this year.
 
Sophomore defender Belle Abruzzo played the role of creator as she collected her first two career assists in the win, both coming on free kicks. She added a shot on goal as well in the contest.
 
A pair of seniors were the recipients of those feeds as Tori Miller scored her second goal of the season for the team's first goal before Katie Anderson scored her third of the year and 25^th of her career. Anderson's goal moved her within two goals of Arielle Stimson and Hillary Johnson for second all-time in program history.
 
CSP seemed to have the better of the play for much of the contest as they finished with 57% of the possession, with 70% of which coming in their offensive end of the field. Concordia also put up a 10-7 edge in total shots as well as a 3-2 edge in corners.
 
The Golden Bears didn't take long to open the scoring as Abruzzo lofted in a free kick from the near side touch line in the ninth minute that eventually found the left knee of Miller. The senior made the most of the opportunity as the senior defender redirected the cross into the back of the net to give Concordia a 1-0 lead with the first shot of the game for either team.
 
After several more shots throughout the middle portion of the opening half, Anderson doubled the lead off another well-placed cross from Abruzzo in the 39^th minute. This time on a free kick from even further out on the far side of the field, Abruzzo launched a deep ball right out in front of goal to set up an Anderson header that beat the keeper to make it 2-0.
 
In total, CSP managed a 7-3 advantage in shots in the first half with two of their three attempts on goal ending up in the back of the net.
 
In the game's final 45 minutes, Concordia limited the goal scoring opportunities for the hosts as they allowed just four MSUM shots, with Matuzak saving both efforts on net.
 
Game Two: CSP 0, NSU 0
On Sunday, the Golden Bears and the Northern State Wolves battled to a 0-0 draw on a rainy Sunday afternoon at the Athletics and Recreations Field in Aberdeen.
 
Defense shined in the match for the Golden Bears as they held the Wolves to just four shots (two on goal). Mackenzie Leibiger played a pivotal role on the defensive side of the pitch for the Navy and Gold. The senior notched her first complete 90-minute outing of the season, the ninth of her career. Miller and Abruzzo also played the game entirely, while freshman Sophia Haase added a career-best 85 minutes.
 
In the first half, CSP dominated offensively after holding NSU to zero shots, and added nine shots (four on goal) of their own. Anderson played a pivotal role in the first half with a pair of shots on goal. However, fouls slowed the game down at times as the Golden Bears committed five, while the Wolves only had one.
 
Northern State was more active in the second half on the offensive of the pitch, but Concordia still managed to outshoot them 6-4. Sammy Ponsonby added the final shot that was on goal in the 80th minute as the two teams batted till the end without a goal scored.
 
Jessi Jordan (1-3-1) made her fifth start of the season in goal for CSP. The junior keeper collected a pair of saves to secure her second clean sheet of the season. On the opposite side of the pitch, Alexus Townsend had a busy day as she collected seven saves and was faced with 15 shots.
 
Offensively, the Golden Bears held an edge as they outshot the Wolves 15-4 and forced five corner kicks. Anderson led the way for the Golden Bears offensive attack with a match leading six shots (three on goal). Haley Rudebusch and Sydney Manthana each collected shots on goal, while Haase added a pair of shots of her own.
 
SEASON-LEADERS
Anderson leads the team with seven points this season with three goals and her latest goal coming against MSU Moorhead, along with an assist against Minnesota Crookston. The senior captain continues to lead the entire NSIC in shots with 44 (5.50 Avg/G) and shots on goal with 18 (2.25 Avg/G).
 
Miller continues to anchor the Golden Bears defense and remains perfect in total minutes with 720 this season after eight games. The senior defender also has contributed by netting a pair of goals this season, her latest being the game-winner against MSU Moorhead. The NSIC announced the Bloomington native earlier this afternoon as the NSIC Defensive Player of Week.
 
Grabau is second on the team with five points after she scored a pair of goals against Minnesota Crookston. The Andover native has tallied 10 shots with four shots on goal so far this season. The forward has notched nine goals and has tallied a total of 22 points throughout her career in the Navy and Gold.
 
Jordan (1-3-1) has started in five games in goal for the Golden Bears. The junior has collected 21 saves that has led to a pair of shutouts, the latest occurring against Northern State. Her goals-against average currently sits at 1.11 with a save percentage of 0.808.
 
Mutuzak (2-0-1) has also been a regular in goal with three starts and four appearances for the Golden Bears. The South St. Paul native collected her first career shutout victory last Friday against MSUM after collecting four saves in the match. The sophomore has a goal against average of 0.61 and 1.00 save percentage so far this season.
 
HISTORY BETWEEN CSP AND UMD
The two programs have met a total of 24 times dating back to October 16, 1999, and the Golden Bears hold a 3-18-3 record against the Bulldogs. UMD was victorious in the first 17 matchups between the two schools and won the inaugural match 6-0 in Duluth. CSP picked up their first win of the series in 2015 with a 1-0 victory in St. Paul. CSP has been 2-1-2 in the last five matchups, with the Golden Bears winning last year's match 2-1. Jessica Timpane (2019-22) netted the first goal of the match with an assist awarded to Grabau, and Sophie Pawlyshyn scored the second goal off a penalty kick in the 71st minute.
 
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
Minnesota Duluth posted an 8-7-3 (7-5-3 NSIC) record in the 2022 campaign and was picked to finish ninth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll with 147 points.
 
The Bulldogs are currently 2-3-3 (1-1-2 NSIC) after going 0-0-2 last weekend at home against Augustana and Wayne State.
 
In non-conference play, UMD went 1-2-1 with their lone win coming against the Northern State Wolves in Duluth. After falling 3-4 in their season opener against Northern Michigan, the Bulldogs tied with Michigan Tech 1-1 on the road.
 
In NSIC play, Minnesota Duluth collected their first win in the opening weekend with a dominant 5-0 victory over Minnesota Crookston. Their last two losses have come against St. Cloud State, one in non-conference and the other in conference play.
 
The player to watch for the Bulldogs is Anna Tobias. The junior forward leads the team with 10 points from five goals. She has tallied a total of 20 shots with 15 of them on goal so far this season.
 
HISTORY BETWEEN CSP AND SCSU
The two programs have played a total of 22 times dating back to September 15, 2001, and the Golden Bears hold a 6-10-6 record against the Huskies. SCSU claimed the first three matchups between the two schools, including the inaugural matchup in St. Cloud where the Huskies took the 3-1 decision. CSP claimed their first win in the series in 2004 with a 1-0 victory over the Huskies in St. Paul. The Golden Bears have won three of the last four matches in the series and have not been defeated by SCSU since 2013. Last season, the two teams played to a 0-0 draw. Goalkeeper Ashlyn Waldon (2020-22) collected five saves in the match. Miller anchored the CSP defense that held St. Cloud to seven shots.
 
ABOUT THE HUSKIES
St. Cloud State posted a 7-7-4 (6-5-4 NSIC) record in the 2022 campaign and were picked eighth in the 2023 NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll with 104 points.
 
The Huskies are currently 6-2 (3-1 NSIC) after going 2-0 last weekend, defeating Wayne State 2-0 on Friday and Augustana 2-1 in St. Cloud.
 
SCSU had a successful non-conference slate after going 3-1 to start the season. Their lone loss in non-conference play came by a score of 0-3 to Northern Michigan on the road.
 
They carried their momentum from non-conference into conference play with a trio of wins over Minnesota Duluth, Wayne State and Augustana. Their lone NSIC blemish came against No. 24 Bemidji on the road, 0-2.
 
Prior to their match with CSP on Sunday, St. Cloud State will face fifth-ranked Minnesota State in Mankato.
 
The player to watch for the Huskies is junior forward Ariel Hawkey. The Washington native has collected seven points with three goals and an assist. All seven of her shots this season have been on goal.