ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul soccer team is set to kick off the 2024 season with a pair of games on the road in Austin, Texas, against the Dustdevils of Texas A&M International and the Hilltoppers of St. Edwards (Texas).
Kick - Off will take place against Texas A&M on the campus of St. Edwards on Saturday at 1 p.m. and finishes Sunday at St. Edwards (Texas) 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.
Preseason
With a strong fall camp coming to a close, the Golden Bears look to seize the bright opportunities ahead of them.
When asked about the team's current status following fall camp, head coach Steve Bellis replied, "We have a larger, stronger squad than ever before, we are more competitive and we hope that relates to the non-conference games." Bellis added, "We had a great camp, 34 players, only one minor injury, it was healthy, positive and the freshmen have integrated pretty well."
The newcomers have done well together, they all have brought great qualities to the team and there will be opportunities for them to play as freshmen. The returners for the Golden Bears have picked up where they left off tremendously and have stepped in as a team to fill the holes left by last year's seniors, collectively.
Since the start of fall camp, the Golden Bears have participated in four scrimmages against a strong CSP alumni team, Macalester, St. Benedict's, and an intra-squad battle.
"They all ended positively, we were able to get lots of playing time for everybody, and we saw the team gel pretty quickly," Bellis concluded. "The College scrimmages were competitive, we were able to figure out some new formations, and work out some tactical items that we can't in practice as much."
Non-Conference Action
The Golden Bears begin the season with four non-conference games. They will travel to Austin, Texas to play both Texas A&M International and St. Edwards (Texas) this upcoming weekend before traveling to Kearney, Nebraska to face Nebraska Kearney and New Mexico Highlands.
CSP will head into both matchups in Austin, Texas with Texas A&M International and St. Edwards for the first time in school history. Both teams are coming off a first-round exit in the Lone Star Conference Tournament along with finishing sixth and seventh respectively in the conference last season.
When asked about the matchups Coach Bellis said, "Both of these games should be good challenges, however, it is a dip into the unknown as we haven't seen them much before. It will allow us to really see where we are at as a team."
Non-conference action will conclude with a trip to Kearney, Nebraska where the Golden Bears will face Nebraska Kearney on Friday, Sept. 13 for just the second time in program history. CSP won the first matchup against the Lopers in 2018 by a score of 2-1.
The Navy and Gold will then play New Mexico Highlands on Sunday, Sept. 15 for the first time in program history. The Golden Bears look to use the non-conference road games to build a stronger bond as a team and get lots of time on the playing field.
Bellis stated, "It will be two really good weekends on the road, we will get lots of playing time on the field together and it will allow for a good chance to do stuff away from the soccer field in regards to building our team chemistry as well."
NSIC Preview
The Golden Bears are coming off a 9-7-4 (6-4-4 NSIC) season from a year ago that saw them advance to the conference semifinal. They look to build on that success and finish at the top of the conference again this year.
The NSIC coaches voted the Golden Bears to finish sixth in the conference preseason poll with 137 points.
Bellis stated, "We were a little disappointed in the pre-season ranking, but our goal is to still be at the top of the conference at the end of the year."
CSP will begin conference play at Minnesota State on Sept. 20. The two teams split their games a year ago. The Mavericks took the first game with a score of 1-0, but the Golden Bears took the 2-1 win over No. 19 ranked Mavericks in the conference tournament to advance to the semifinals.
A matchup to look forward to comes on Oct. 27 when UMary comes for a visit. The Marauders eliminated the Golden Bears in the NSIC Tournament semifinal by a score of 1-0 and defeated them in Bismarck, North Dakota by a score of 2-1 last season.
Conference play for CSP soccer will conclude at home versus Sioux Falls on Nov. 7. The two teams battled to a 0-0 draw in last year's game. The Cougars are coming off a 13th place conference finish last season.
Players to Watch
Forward Sammy Ponsonby returns for her final year with the Golden Bears and is coming off a season in which she appeared in all 20 games, which included 14 starts. During the 2023 season, she had a pair of goals and an assist. She chipped in her first goal of the season against Minnesota Crookston and added her second goal against St. Cloud State.
Defender Haley Rudebusch enters her senior year after a season where she was named team captain and started in all 20 games for CSP. She held down the defensive side of the pitch playing over 1,300 minutes with a season-high 80-minute outing in the NSIC Tournament semifinal against UMary.
Both Ponsonby and Rudebusch were named this year's captains and bring senior leadership to the locker room. Bellis said, "Both captains did a great job in preseason setting the standards, showing the newcomers how we act as a team and making for a positive environment. They are a fun group to coach and it should be another great season for CSP Soccer."
Bellis on his players as a whole, "They are an amazing group of student-athletes that do great on the field and in the classroom."
Final Words From Coach Bellis
"We really want the student population to come out and become CSP soccer fans!"
