ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia- St. Paul soccer (9-3-3, 7-3-1 NSIC) looks to keep winning streak alive on the road playing the Golden Eagles of Minnesota Crookston (1-12-2, 1-9-1 NSIC) on Friday and the Beavers of Bemidji State (8-4-3, 6-2-3 NSIC) on Sunday.
Action will take place on Friday at 2 p.m. in Crookston, Minn. at the Minnesota Crookston Soccer Field and wrap-up on Sunday in Bemidji, Minn. at Chet Anderson Stadium with a 1 p.m. kick-off.
RECAP OF THE WEEK
The Golden Bears finish the week 2-0 after taking the win 3-0 over Minot State on Friday and downing the Marauders of the University of Mary on Sunday 1-0 both at Sea Foam Stadium.
The Navy and Gold are currently on a four-game winning streak with only three games left to play in the regular season.
CSP soccer moves up two spots to #6 in the United Soccer Coaches Central Region Poll after winning their last four games.
Game One: CSP 3, Minot 0
Sophia Haase once again highlighted the game for the Golden Bears scoring her fourth goal and fourth assist of the season. She has now scored a goal in each of the last three games including two goals in the Wayne State game.
In the first half, a falter by the Beavers led to a Golden Bears goal scored off a Minot defender at the 11th minute. Minot tried to recover, holding a 3-1 shot advantage over CSP but were unable to capitalize.
The Navy and Gold dominated in the second half leaving the Beavers with no room to run. Ashley Bennett scored a left foot goal at the 51st minute mark with an assist by Haase to put the Bears up 2-0.
At the 71st minute mark Haase scored off a header to put the game out of reach for Minot. She was assisted on the goal by Clare Snapko's corner kick.
Snapko tallied her third assist of the season in Friday's game marking a career and season-high.
CSP held the second-half shot advantage 5-3 and totaled an overall 4-2 corner kick advantage.
Sydney Potter got her ninth start of the season recording four saves to bring her season total to 30.
21 different Golden Bears hit the pitch, Snapko and Belle Abruzzo continued to hold down defense playing a full 90-minute outing.
Bennett, Haase, Snapko, Nicole Moore, Stella Nielsen and Elena Siekas all tallied a shot in the shutout win.
Game Two: CSP 1, UMary 0
Junior Clare Snapko highlighted the game for the Golden Bears scoring her third goal of the season on a free kick.
In the first half, CSP and the University of Mary battled back and forth both sharing even time of possession with Concordia just edging them out with a 5-3 shot advantage.
The Navy and Gold came to play in the second half, outshooting the Marauders 4-0 and kicking three corners to Mary's none.
At the 74th minute Clare Snapko scored the eventual game-winner on a free kick unassisted. The Golden Bears locked up and didn't allow the desperate Marauders any chance of scoring to get their fourth win in a row.
Snapko and Sophia Haase led the team in shots with three in the game.
Brittany Bordson, Belle Abruzzo and Snapko all played a full 90-minute outing with Abruzzo and Snapko playing their team-leading 13th full game of the season.
Goalkeeper Sydney Potter got her 10th start of the season in the net and recorded her third shutout in a row to bring her season total to eight. She tallied one save against the Marauders to bring her season total to 31.
SEASON LEADERS
Amaya O'Hearn leads the team and NSIC in assists (8) and assists per game (0.53). Her eight assists rank her fifth in DII.
O'Hearn also leads the team in total points with 14.
Sophia Haase leads the team in shots (30) and shots on goal (18). She also shares the team lead in goals with four.
Sammy Ponsonby leads the team and NSIC in game-winning goals with three. She also shares the team lead in goals with four.
Ashley Bennett caps off the three-way tie for the team lead in goals with four.
Goalkeeper Sydney Potter has recorded eight shutouts this season that leads the NSIC and ranks seventh in DII. She has faced 66 shots and has made 31 saves.
Potter's goals against average (0.38) rank second in the NSIC and 11th in DII. Her save percentage of 0.886 also ranks second in the NSIC and ranks top ten in DII.
As a team the Golden Bears rank first in the NSIC in assists per game (1.6) and total assists (24).
HISTORY BETWEEN CSP AND UMC
The two programs have met a total of 26 times with the Golden Bears holding the 18-6-2 all-time advantage. CSP got their first win over the Golden Eagles on Oct 20, 2001 by a score of 3-0.
CSP currently holds a eight game unbeaten streak dating back to Oct 1, 2016.
Last season, Concordia got the 5-0 shutout led by Brittany Bordson and Amaya O'Hearn goals and a Clare Snapko assist.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Minnesota Crookston posted a 0-18 (0-14 NSIC) record in the 2023 season and were picked to finish 15th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The Golden Eagles currently sit at 1-12-2 (1-9-1 NSIC) after going 0-2 last week at Augustana and Wayne State by a combined 8-0.
The players to watch for UMC are forwards Sarah Burgum and Brooklyn Fischbach who are the team leaders in goals with two.
HISTORY BETWEEN CSP AND BSU
The two programs have met a total of 27 times with the Beavers holding the 10-14-3 all-time advantage. CSP got their first win over Bemidji on Sept 28, 2003 by a score of 2-1.
Last season, the Golden Bears and the Beavers tied 0-0 in a regular season contest.
ABOUT THE BEAVERS
Bemidji State posted a 13-4-6 (7-3-4 NSIC) record in the 2023 season where they won the NSIC Tournament and made it to the second round of the NCAA Central Regionals.
The Beavers were picked to finish third in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll and currently sit at 8-4-3 (6-2-3 NSIC) after going 0-0-2 last week. They tied Wayne and Augustana on the road both games 1-1.
The player to watch for BSU is forward Katrina Barthelt who leads the team with eight goals and 18 points. She has been named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week two times this season and leads the NSIC in shots on goal with 23.
