ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia- St. Paul soccer (5-2-3) prepares for a pair of NSIC games playing a split with the Vikings of Augustana (4-4-2) on the road before returning home to face the Wildcats of Wayne State (4-3-3).
Action will take place on Friday against Augustana at 4 p.m. from Morstad Field in Sioux Falls, S.D. The weekend will then conclude against Wayne at home on Sunday at 1 p.m. from Sea Foam Stadium.
RECAP OF THE WEEK
The Golden Bears finish the week 1-0-1 after battling to a 0-0 draw in a competitive game with the Huskies of St. Cloud State on Friday before blanking the Bulldogs of Minnesota Duluth 4-0 on Sunday.
CSP soccer is currently ranked seventh for a second consecutive week in the United Soccer Coaches Central Region Poll.
Clare Snapko was named NSIC Defensive Player of the Week for her two-goal game at Minnesota Duluth along with CSP Player of the Week.
Sydney Potter was named NSIC Goalkeeper of the Week after recording two shutouts over the weekend.
Game One: CSP 0, SCSU 0
The defense was the star of the show in this game holding the Huskies to just six total shots with only one shot coming on goal.
Brittany Bordson, Belle Abruzzo, Clare Snapko and Morgan Bilczewski all played a full 90-minute game on the pitch.
Sophomore Syndey Potter got her fourth start of the season in the net, recording one save to bring her season total to eight.
In the first half, the Golden Bears outshot the Huskies 6-3, keeping the SCSU defense on their toes.
Coming out of halftime, CSP was playing with a strong edge, getting off three back-to-back shots but unfortunately not able to get past a strong SCSU goalie and defense. Concordia held the second half shot advantage 4-3 leading to a total game advantage of 10-6.
Leading the Golden Bear offense was senior Sammy Ponsonby who had two shots with one on goal. Jade Cannady and Amaya O'Hearn each with two shots as well.
Game Two: CSP 4, UMD 0
Defender Clare Snapko's two goal performance highlighted the game for the Golden Bears. With her two goals, she scored her first of the year and marked a career-high number of goals in a season.
The Navy and Gold got off to a fast start, scoring their first goal in the 14th minute when Ashley Bennett got a high shot through to the back of the net assisted by Amaya O'Hearn.
In the first half, CSP held the shot advantage 7-5 along with having 4 corner kicks to the Bulldogs 3.
The second-half was all Golden Bears, scoring three goals and holding the shot advantage 11-4.
Snapko scored her first goal of the season at the 50th minute on a free kick.
Just 16 minutes later, Snapko got her second goal of the game with a high shot to the center of the net.
Senior Amaya O'hearn scored her second goal of the season at the 75th minute with a high shot to the left of the net with an assist from defender Belle Abruzzo.
Goalie Sydney Potter got her second start of the weekend recording a season-high five saves with nine shots faced.
Abruzzo held down the defensive side of the pitch playing a full 90-minute outing.
The Bulldogs offense was not able to get going and were stopped at every opportunity by the Golden Bears.
SEASON LEADERS
Sammy Ponsonby leads the team in goals with four which ranks her second in the NSIC.
Ponsonby also leads the team and NSIC in game-winning goals with 3 which ranks seventh in NCAA DII.
Amaya O'Hearn leads the team and NSIC in total assists with six, ranking her eighth in NCAA DII. She also leads the team in total points with 10.
Clare Snapko leads the team in minutes played with 847 minutes including a career-high eight complete games. She also comes off a weekend in which she scored a career-high two goals at Minnesota Duluth.
Goalkeeper Syndey Potter leads the team with five shutouts recording a career-high 13 saves. She ranks second in NCAA DII in goals against average with 0.179 and save percentage with .929%.
As a team the Golden Bears lead the NSIC in total assists with 15, goals with 17 and points with 49.
HISTORY BETWEEN CSP AND AUGIE
The two programs have met a total of 18 times with the Vikings holding a 3-13-2 all-time advantage. CSP got their first win over the Augie's on August 26, 2006 where Concordia won 3-0.
Last season, the Golden Bears won 4-1 over the Vikings in a regular season contest where Sophia Haase recorded two assists in the game.
ABOUT THE VIKINGS
Augustana posted a 9-7-3 (7-5-2 NSIC) record in the 2023 season and were picked to finish fifth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll with 147 points. They edged out CSP by ten points in the poll and were picked one spot ahead making this a competitive match-up.
The Vikings currently sit at 4-4-2 (3-2-1 NSIC) after going 0-1-1 last week, playing to a 0-0 draw at Minot and then falling 1-0 at UMary.
The players to watch for the Augie's are a pair of freshmen. Goalie Aaliyah Matthews who has played in all 10 games with 9 starts. She has 38 saves on the season and five shutouts. Matthews has faced 105 shots and was named the NSIC Goalkeeper of the Week on Sept. 30 after back-to-back shutout wins.
The next player to watch is forward Morgan Mancuso who has played in eight games and is tied for team leader in goals with two. She has recorded 15 shots with six coming on goal. She was named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 30 after scoring in back-to-back games, both coming in on headers.
HISTORY BETWEEN CSP AND WSC
The two programs have met a total of 28 times with the Golden Bears holding a 17-9-2 all-time advantage. CSP got their first win over the Wildcats on October 12, 2003 with a score of 4-2.
Last season, Wayne got the 1-0 win over Concordia in the regular season.
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
Wayne State posted a 7-8-3 (5-6-3 NSIC) record in the 2023 season and were picked to finish 11th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll with 70 points.
The Wildcats currently sit at 4-3-3 (3-1-2 NSIC) after going 1-0-1 last week, earning a 3-0 win at MSU Moorhead and then battling to a 1-1 draw at Northern State.
The player to watch for Wayne is Junior Paige Pemberton who is a team leader in goals with three and leads the team in assists with 4. She has recorded 14 shots with six coming on goal so far this season.
