ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's soccer team (8-2-2, 5-2-2 NSIC) fell 1-0 in a defensive battle to the No. 3 Mavericks of Minnesota State on a fall Friday night at Sea Foam Stadium.
On the loss, head coach Steve Bellis stated, "A great NSIC battle, a tough result in the end but a strong CSP soccer performance. We will need to bounce back for Sunday's game. "
Concordia got off to a fast start, recording six quick shots to set the tone for what would be a physical battle.
The Mavericks responded to the quick CSP offense with five shots of their own, before the Navy and Gold would head to the corner for their first corner kick opportunity of the game. The kick was quickly headed out of offensive territory by Minnesota State.
Both teams would exchange final shots before heading into the break.
Coming out from halftime, both squads picked up the pace right where they left off. The Golden Bears would serve two straight corner kicks, both being placed out of the offensive zone before Minnesota State would quickly run down the field and fire off two fast shots of their own.
Heading into the final 20 minutes of play, neither side looked ready to give in while both teams traded possession.
In the 78th-minute a CSP miscue in the penalty box gave the Mavericks a penalty kick opportunity. Anna Van Wyngarden scored a perfect shot to the upper left of the net to get MSU on the board.
With their backs against the wall, the Golden Bears needed to find an offensive momentum but the Mavericks defense would have none of it, allowing just one shot in the final 12 minutes of play to hand Concordia their second loss of the season.
Leading the Navy and Gold's offense was senior McKayla Stockess, tallying a season-high four shots with three coming on goal. The CSP offense forced MSU to make a season-high six saves, marking a full two saves more than any other opponent thus far.
Five players notched a shot in the loss including, Lexi Pettit, Lainie Wehmhoff, Sophia Haase, Brooke Nelson and Stockness.
Locking down the defense was Maddison Balashaitis and Clare Snapko who each played a full 90-minute outing while holding Minnesota State to their lowest goal total since Sept. 12 when they won 1-0 over No. 4 Grand Valley State.
Junior goalkeeper Sydney Potter got her ninth start of the season in the net, making six diving saves to bring her season total to 25.
Both teams ended the game even at 14-14 in shots and 6-6 on saves. MSU edged CSP 9-3 in corner kick attempts.
The Golden Bears will look to bounce back on Sunday where they face the Huskies of St. Cloud State in St. Cloud at Husky Stadium. Kick-off is set for 12 p.m.
