Late First-Half Goals Help Cobbers Blank Cougars

MOORHEAD, Minn. (9/04/12)—For the 40 minutes against UM-Morris on Tuesday, Concordia was as active as a retiree on vacation. The Cobbers showed the fatigue from playing two tough games over the weekend and were struggling to stay in the game against the Cougars. That all changed in the final five minutes of the first half when CC poached two goals and seized control of the non-conference game.

The Cobbers have now won two straight and are 2-1 on the young season. Morris remains winless in their first three starts of 2012.

Concordia junior midfielder Bobby Spoja finished off a combination passing play at the top of the penalty area and then Olivier Toussaint scored directly from a corner kick to give the Cobbers a two-goal cushion into the second half. The two late goals would be all the defense needed as Concordia rolled to their second straight shutout – winning 4-0 at the final whistle.

"We went through the motions in the first half," commented first-year head coach Ben Schneweis. We were ridiculously lucky to get into halftime with a two-goal lead."

The Cobbers put forth a better effort in the second period and were rewarded with two more goals in the first 30 minutes of play. Kristian Reiersgord curled in a free kick from 28 yards out to give CC a 3-0 lead and then senior Matt Winkels closed out the score sheet by scrapping home a passing play that started with goalie Peter Runquist. Toussaint collected the other assist on Winkel's first goal of the season to finish off his four-point game. Freshman defender Nick Koerbitz earned his first collegiate point when he won the ball in the middle of the field and started the passing play that led to Spoja's game-winning goal.

"It was nice to see the team respond with more energy and mental strength in the second half," said Schneweis. "We will need to keep getting better if we want to have a chance this weekend against two quality opponents."

Runquist made three saves on the day to pick up his second straight "clean sheet". He has not allowed a goal in the past 188 minutes of play.

The Cougars wound up outshooting Concordia 10-7 for the game but the Cobbers held a 5-3 edge in shots on goal. Both teams had four corner kicks in the game.

Concordia will return to action when they host St. Scholastica on Friday, Sept. 7 at 4 p.m. at the Jake Christiansen Athletic Complex.