ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul soccer team is set to kick off the 2025 campaign with a pair of non-conference home games against the Lopers of Nebraska Kearney and a familiar NSIC opponent the Beavers from Minot State.
First kick will take place against the Lopers on Friday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. The opening weekend will wrap-up with the Beavers on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 2 p.m. Both games will take place right here at Sea Foam Stadium in St. Paul, Minn.
PURCHASE TICKETS IN ADVANCE ONLINE
Fans are highly encouraged to purchase tickets online at cspbears.com/tickets prior to game day. All ticketed events for the 25-26 academic year will utilize the Vivenue online ticket platform found at that link and fans must scan a mobile ticket to enter. Tickets will still be sold on site on game day but purchases are card-only and include additional fees. The best way for fans to make their game day entry as smooth as possible is to purchase tickets online in advance. CSP Students, Faculty and Staff will be able to download their free passes through Vivenue.
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 camp in the books, the Golden Bears look to hit the ground running and pick up where they left off.
When asked about the team's status following fall camp, head coach Steve Belis stated, "It's been a very successful preseason of integrating our returning players with the freshman and transfers." Bellis added, "It is evident that we have some wonderful group leaders amongst the squad and have hit the ground pretty seamlessly since our spring season."
Since the start of fall camp, the Golden Bears have participated in three scrimmages against a competitive CSP Alumni team, St. Benedict's and a strong North Dakota State opponent.
"During our preseason scrimmages we have been offensively a strong threat and scored a lot of goals which has been nice and then importantly, defensively we have been really organized and haven't given other teams opportunities to score which is our goal."
The team has also had lots of chances to participate in team bonding activities to build a stronger cohesive team bond heading into the season and enjoyed some fun off days to break up the long but important preseason.
"As always it's great to have our student-athletes back on campus as we start to look forward to our competitive season."
Non-Conference Action
The Golden Bears will begin the season with three non-conference home games starting with a pair of games on home-opening weekend against the Lopers of Nebraska Kearney and familiar NSIC opponent the Minot State Beavers.
Concordia will face the Lopers for the second consecutive season after playing to a scoreless draw last season.
On the season-opener against the Lopers, Coach Bellis stated, "It should be a good game, we played them last year and they were a good opponent. We can be optimistic that it will be a tight game and comparable to an NSIC game."
The Navy and Gold will then face Minot for the 14th time in program history. Last season, the Golden Bears won the regular season matchup 3-0 but the Beavers took the NSIC Tournament Semifinals game in penalty kicks to advance to the NSIC Championship.
CSP will wrap-up the non-conference schedule the following week on home turf against the Rangers of Parkside. The Navy and Gold last faced the Rangers in 2023 where they fell 2-0, Parkside holds a 6-1-1 all-time record against Concordia.
When asked about the matchups, Coach Bellis stated, "We have three home games which is massive but important for us as a program to be at home and see if we can fill the stands and get our supporters and family back cheering us on."
NSIC Preview
The Golden Bears are coming off a (13-4-4, 10-3-1 NSIC) season where they finished second in the NSIC, advanced to the NSIC Tournament Semifinals, and earned their second trip to the NCAA Central Region Tournament.
The NSIC coaches voted the Navy and Gold to finish second in the conference poll with 202 points right behind Minnesota State with 224 points.
Bellis on the Preseason Coaches' Poll, "I don't read too much into the rankings and it's not usually a great indicator of where everyone's going to finish but obviously it's a great accolade for the team and I am glad we were picked second and not anything different than that." Bellis added, "It's great but not something we are going to overthink."
CSP will open conference play at new addition Jamestown on Sept. 19. The Jimmies join the NSIC this season after moving to NCAA Division II from NAIA. The last time the two teams met was Sept. 4, 2004. The Golden Bears hold a 2-1 all-time record over the Jimmies.
Bellis on the NSIC, "The conference overall has always been competitive but the quality of the soccer has increased overall and adding another program is great and we look forward to playing Jamestown and seeing a new team in the conference. " Bellis added, "NSIC games will always be challenging and there are no gimmies anymore, it should be a fun league this year."
Conference play for CSP soccer will conclude at home against the Warriors of Winona State on Nov. 6. The Golden Bears won in dominant fashion last year with a 5-0 shutout in Winona.
The Warriors are coming off a 10th place conference finish last season.
Players to Watch
Forward Sophia Haase returns to the pitch after a dominant sophomore season where she was named All-NSIC First-Team, D2CCA All-Central Region First-Team and a CSC Academic All-American. Haase led the team in both goals and points scored while becoming a mainstay on the Golden Bears offense.
Defender Clare Snapko enters her senior year after a dominant defensive season for the Navy and Gold. Snapko was named All-NSIC Second-Team and was named a NSIC Defensive Player of the Week twice.
Goalkeeper Sydney Potter returns after one of the best single-season performances of a goalkeeper in program history. Potter was named a D2CCA All-American, marking a first for the program. She was also named the NSIC Goalkeeper of the Year and to the NSIC All-Tournament Team.
Haase, Snapko and defender Belle Abruzzo were named the 2025-26 Team Captains.
Bellis on his players to watch and captains, "A good group of leaders, all different personalities that bring something special to the table. They are all really good vocal leaders that lead by example and are positive human beings that are great assets to the program."
Finals Words From Coach Bellis
"I would encourage our student body to come out and watch us play, soccer is fun! There is a lot of action on the field, it's exciting and we want to fill the Foam as much as we can. We have a ton of home games this year! It will be a fun year, Go Bears!"
