Julius' Late Game-Winner Finally Sheds Blazers

MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/21/12)—Sophomore Breann Julius had two goals, including the game winner with 1:04 to go in the third period, and No.9-ranked Concordia was able to finally able to pull away from St. Ben's, winning 3-2 in Moorhead on Saturday.

For the second straight game Concordia blasted away at the Blazer net, and for the second straight game CSB goalie Jenna Traut turned back the Cobber attack on chance after chance. CC ended up outshooting St. Ben's 47-13 on Saturday and 89-34 in the series. Traut made 83 saves on the weekend to allow the Blazers to come away with a single point.

Concordia earns three points on the weekend which enables them to stay locked into second place in the league standings. CC is now unbeaten against St. Ben's in the past 11 games. The Cobbers are now 5-1-2 in league play and 9-2-2 in all games. The Cobbers have 12 league points and are one point clear of third-place St. Olaf. The Blazers fall to 1-4-3 in the MIAC and 3-9-3 in overall games.

The game was almost a mirror copy of Friday's contest where the Cobbers got out to a multiple-goal lead before allowing the Blazers to tie the game in the second half of the third period. Concordia scored a pair of goals in the second period only to watch St. Ben's tie the game with two goals in the third period. Julius opened the scoring when she gave CC a 1-0 lead at the 9:53 mark of the middle frame. Abby Taffe picked up the assist on the play. Senior Katelyn Dold then pushed the lead to two goals when she netted her eighth goal of the season at 17:36. She tapped the puck over the goal line after it lay in the crease. CC soccer/defenseman Ali Nelson and Libby Fransdal earned the assists.

Concordia led 2-0 after two periods but could have been up by even more if it wasn't for Traut. The Cobbers outshot St. Ben's 32-7 for the first 40 minutes.

St. Ben's tied the game with a goal in the third minute of play and then in the 11^th minute. The momentum swung in favor of the Blazers after the second goal and the Cobbers battled to get the winner late in the third.

Julius struck for the second time in the game at the 18:56 mark. The goal was her 10^th of the season and could be a huge goal in the final standings. Dold and Taffe had the assists on the play to earn their second points of the game.

Cobber goalie Desiree Goret only made 11 saves in the game but had a game-saving stop with the paddle of her goal stick late in the third period. She is now 2-0-0 on the year. Traut had 44 saves on the day and is now 2-6-1.

Both teams had one power play goal on the day. CC was 1-for-2 in their man-advantage situations and the Blazers were 1-for-3.

Concordia will now host No.5-ranked Gustavus on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 27-28 in a battle of the two nationally ranked teams in the MIAC.