Comeback Kids x 3

MOORHEAD, Minn. (9/13/17)--- Concordia rallied from one-goal deficits on three different occasions and came away with a hard fought 3-3 double overtime tie with St. John's in the conference opener.

The Cobbers trailed 1-0, then 2-1 and finally 3-2 before an in-close goal from senior defender Austin Promersberger tied the game for the final time at the 79:57 mark. The teams would battle through the final 10 minutes of regulation and then the 20 minutes of overtime before settling for the 3-3 draw.

The game was a physical affair with the teams combining for 27 fouls and four yellow cards as they battled in a typical MIAC contest.

St. John's would score two of their three goals directly off a dead ball, or throw-in situation. The Johnnies got on the board in the 22nd minute of play when Uriel Cordoba whipped in a perfect dead ball service from 30 yards out that was met with an open header just above the 6-yard box.

Concordia's response would be quick. The Cobbers trailed for only 118 seconds before sophomore Aronah Mukhtar was played free of the SJU defense on the right side of the 18-yard box. Mukhtar didn't waste the chance as he buried a laser into the far left corner.

The goal was a culmination of a solid passing build up from Noah Gjesdahl and Justin Froslie. For Froslie it would be the first of two assists on the day.

The teams would then trade goals on either side of the halftime break. The Johnnies got a "pinball" goal at 38:39 when a ball was slammed off a Cobber defender at the top of the penalty area. The ensuing ricochet went right to an SJU player who finished off an uncontested shot from 18 yards out.

The Cobbers once again evened the scoreboard tally on a strike from Mukhtar. Once again he was played free on the right wing. Unlike his goal in the first half, Mukhtar was unable to break free of the SJU defense but that was only because one of the Johnnie defenders dragged him down in the penalty area to earn a spot kick.

Mukhtar then finished off his second goal by burying the penalty shot and the game was once again tied with 42:47 to play in regulation.

St. John's appeared to score the game-winning goal with a little over 10 minutes to play when an attacker flicked a throw-in backwards towards the goal and into the far side netting.

Concordia would counter with a goal off of a throw-in of their own when Promersberger corralled a loose ball after a flicked header and he lofted a shot over the SJU goalie just 41-seconds after SJU had taken its third lead of the game.

The 87-degree heat then took its toll on the two teams as they were unable to find a game winner in the final 30 minutes of play.

The Cobber had the best chance but a breakaway late in regulation was stopped by the Johnnie keeper.

A SEASON IN FIVE GAMES: Aronah Mukhtar now leads Concordia in goals scored with three. That is as many as the rest of CC has combined for. The three goals in the first five games of the year are one more than Mukhtar had in all of last season.

MIAC OPENING OPTIMISM: The tie for the Cobbers marks the first time since the 2012 that Concordia has earned at least one point in the MIAC opener.           

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will play a conference/non-conference doubleheader over the weekend. The Cobbers will play at Gustavus on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 1 p.m. and then return to Moorhead to host Coe on Sunday, Sept. 17 at 12 p.m. The Gusties lost their MIAC opener 1-0 at Carleton and are 3-3 on the year while the Cohawks are 2-3 on the year.