AUSTIN, Texas. - The Concordia- St. Paul soccer team (1-0-1) concluded its weekend in Texas with a 1-1 draw at St. Edwards (Texas) (0-1-1) on Sunday afternoon at Lewis-Chen Family Field.
Following the game, Head Coach Steve Bellis stated, "Another very competitive game where we saw our team grow in confidence and performance levels - I liked how we combined and looked more dangerous going forward."
Bellis added, "We started to look strong on set pieces and got a well worked goal from one, we tired later in the game and they tied the game with a great goal."
Senior Sydney Manthana scored in the 15th minute of the match off an assist by Sophia Haase on a low shot to the left of the net to put the Golden Bears on the board first.
Junior Kayla Matuzak made her eighth career start and second of the weekend in the net. She recorded 4 saves on the day for the Navy and Gold.
A competitive contest between the Golden Bears and Hilltoppers led to a 10-7 shot advantage in favor of the home team.
In the first half, St. Edwards came out fast, having three shots in the first nine minutes of play with two of them being saved by Matuzak. The Golden Bears held their ground and put on a strong defensive front, with the Hilltoppers making three more shot attempts before the half.
The second half, had the Navy and Gold taking the first shot followed by a back and forth half with two teams trying to edge the other. St. Edwards was able to score the game-tying goal at the 74 minute mark to ultimately close the game out in a draw.
The Golden Bears got off three shots in the final nine minutes to try and earn the victory, but a locked-down Hilltoppers defense refused to fold.
Manthana led the team with one goal and two shots along with Haase with two shots of her own.
"Overall we had a wonderful weekend in Austin and our team will benefit from the games and time together off the field," Bellis stated.
The Golden Bears will return to action next weekend playing a pair of games in Kearney, Nebraska. CSP will take on the Lopers of Nebraska Kearney on Friday, Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. followed by a match versus New Mexico Highlands on Sunday, Sept. 15 at 11 a.m. to wrap up non-conference action.
