ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia- St. Paul soccer (12-3-3, 10-3-1 NSIC) is set to host the NSIC Tournament Quarterfinals Nov. 11 taking on the Beavers of Bemidji State (9-6-3, 7-4-3 NSIC) at Sea Foam Stadium. Monday's kick-off is set for 11 a.m.
The NSIC Tournament is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 11, Friday, Nov. 15 and Sunday, Nov. 17. The top four seeds host a first round match, followed by the semifinal and championship rounds at the campus of the highest remaining seed of the four quarterfinal winners.
On the NSIC Tournament, head Coach Steve Bellis stated, "We are on a great run and have found some momentum recently. I am very proud of all our players. The whole squad has worked hard over the last year to be in this spot."
Bellis on the BSU matchup, "Playing our old rivals BSU only adds to the excitement of the post-season tournament."
RECAP OF THE WEEK
The Golden Bears won their seventh straight game to end the regular season, shutting out the Cougars of Sioux Falls 2-0 on Thursday night.
CSP soccer is currently ranked fifth in the United Soccer Coaches Central Region Poll and this week were ranked in the NCAA Central Region Rankings coming in at #7.
Concordia has clinched the #2 seed for the NSIC Tournament and finished second in the conference to wrap up the regular season.
Game One: CSP 2, USF 0
Following the win, head coach Steve Bellis stated, "We honored our seniors well tonight and showed a gritty performance to get the win. We are excited to keep the win streak going for the playoffs."
In the first half, the Golden Bears out shot the Cougars 5-2 and held a 3-2 corner kick advantage. Both teams were racing up and down the field looking for their chance to capitalize.
Sydney Manthana got the scoring started at the 27th minute with an unassisted goal to record her fifth of the season and mark the eventual game-winner.
Once the Navy and Gold score it is only a matter of time before they add another one. At the 31st minute Brittany Bordson scored her third goal of the season with assists from Clare Snapko and Sophia Haase to bring CSP up 2-0.
Coming out for the second half the Cougars were on the prowl and looking for their chance to add one of their own but the Golden Bear defense went on lockdown.
CSP held a 4-0 corner kick advantage in the second to tally a 7-2 all-game advantage. Both teams recorded seven shots in the game to equalize each other.
Ashley Bennett and Amaya O'Hearn led the team each with two shots and one shot on goal.
Snapko and Belle Abruzzo once again held down the defensive side of the pitch, each playing a full 90-minute game.
Goalkeeper Syndey Potter got her 13th start of the season in the net for the Golden Bears making seven saves to bring her season total to 42. She also marked her 10th shutout of the season.
CSP soccer will look to bring their strong momentum into Monday's Quarterfinal match.
SEASON LEADERS
Amaya O'Hearn leads the team and NSIC in assists with nine.
Sammy Ponsony continues to lead the team and NSIC in game-winning goals with three.
Clare Snapko leads the team in minutes played with 1,530. She has also tallied three goals and five assists.
Sophia Haase continues to play her best soccer of the season leading the team in goals (7), points (19), shots (40) and shots on goal (24). She currently ranks in the top four in the NSIC in six categories and last week scored her first collegiate hat-trick.
Goalkeeper Sydney Potter has recorded 42 saves, 10 shutouts and has a .0894 save percentage on 82 shots faced. She ranks second in the NSIC in goals against average (0.368), shutouts (10) and third in save percentage.
As a team the Golden Bears rank first in the NSIC in assists per game (2), first in game-winning goals (12) and total assists per game (36).
HISTORY BETWEEN CSP AND BSU
The two programs have met a total of 28 times with the Beavers holding the 11-14-3 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.
This season, CSP took the 2-1 win during the recent meeting headlined by Lexi Pettit and Sydney Manthana each scoring a goal.
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 9-6-3 (7-4-3 NSIC) after going 1-1 in their last two games including the loss to CSP and a 3-0 win over Duluth to wrap up their regular season.
BSU has clinched the #7 seed heading into the NSIC Tournament.
Forward Katrina Barthelt is the player to watch for Bemidji. She leads the team and NSIC with 11 goals along with leading the conference in shots on goal (28) and total points (25). She has been named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week two times this season.
HISTORY AT THE NSIC TOURNAMENT
CSP holds a 6-14 record in the conference tournament since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 1999. The Golden Bears won their first tournament game on October 24, 2006 with a 3-1 win over MSU Moorhead.
The 2019 Golden Bears had the best finish in the conference tournament reaching the championship game for the first time in program history. That season the No. 20 CSP soccer were the NSIC Regular Season Champions and opened the tournament with a 2-0 win over Wayne State in the quarterfinals and added a 2-1 win over St. Cloud in the semifinal match.
Last season, Concordia reached the tournament as the #7 seed and upset #19 ranked Minnesota State 2-1 in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2021. In the semifinals, the Golden Bears fell to the Marauders of UMary 1-0 to end their run.
