Close Contest Decided By Late Penalty Kick

WINONA, Minn. (9/30/23)---Concordia conceded a penalty kick in the 70th minute of play and lost 1-0 at St. Mary's. The Cobbers held a statistical advantage in shots and corner kicks, but couldn't come up with an equalizer and lost by a single goal for the second time in 2023.

The loss drops Concordia's overall mark under the .500 level. CC is now 4-5-1 in all games and 1-3-1 in conference play. St. Mary's moves to 5-3-2 overall and 1-2-0 in the MIAC.   

THE 411: The game was a defensive affair with neither team being able to get an open look at the goal. The two teams produced only five shots on goal in the run of play through the 90-minute contest.

The decisive moment came when the Cardinals played a ball into the top left corner of the Cobber penalty area. An SMU attacker ran on to the ball and tried to turn the corner on a Concordia defender. In the process of the battle, the St. Mary's player fell to the ground and was awarded a penalty kick. The spot kick was converted with a shot into the upper-left corner of the net.

The Cobbers were able to get off a pair of shots in the final five minutes of play, but one sailed wide and the other was blocked.      
     
THE NEXT LEVEL: The converted penalty kick was the first successful PK against the Cobbers this season. CC entered the game having five spot kicks, with goalie Jensen Waltz stopping three and the other two not finding the target. The six penalty kicks are the most allowed by a team in the MIAC this season.

BY THE NUMBERS: Concordia held a 10-8 advantage in total shots, while the Cardinals had a 4-2 edge in shots on goal. The Cobbers took four more corner kicks (6-2) in the game. The teams combined for 19 fouls and five yellow cards.           

INDIVIDUALLY SPEAKING: Mason Weigel led all players with three total shots and one on frame. Owen Gallo was the only other CC player with more than one shot in the game. Waltz stopped three shots and is second in the MIAC with 57 saves on the season.  
      
UP NEXT: Concordia will have a week off before hosting Augsburg on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 1 p.m.