Wind Swept Away

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. (11/05/11)—Concordia conceded a goal in the final :04 of the first overtime and lost 1-0 at St. Ben’s in the MIAC Championship game on Saturday. It is only the second loss for the Cobbers in the last 12 games. CC is now 12-3-5 on the year.

The game was played in a driving wind which affected both teams and was a contributing factor in the contest. The 20-30 mph wind was blowing across the field and, at times, would change to blow diagonally across the entire field.

Concordia went against the wind in the first half and had the better of the possession but couldn’t come up with the key first goal. The Cobbers best chance of the half came in the final 20 minutes when a ball was delivered into the box and was knocked around a scrum of players. A CC attacker was able to get foot on the ball but couldn’t get it past the Blazer defense or fallen goalie.

The second half played out in favor of the team going against wind for the second straight. Concordia had more chances but the Blazers were the more consistent team. The Cobbers’ two best chances came in the final minutes of play. CC had a pair of shots from just outside the penalty area on the left side of the goal sail just wide or over the net.  Defender Nikole Koehn ran on to a ball and then hammered a shot which CSB goalie Megan Favorite was able to get a hand on and tip over the bar.

Neither team had a quality chance in the first overtime period until St. Ben’s scored in the dying seconds. A Blazer player played the ball long into the CC defensive third of the field. A Concordia defender tracked the ball back and went to clear the ball but wasn’t able to get a piece of it and a St. Ben’s defender Kerrie Dingman ran onto the ball and then fired a low shot that found the far corner of the net. It was Dingman’s first goal of the season.

Concordia wound up outshooting the Blazers for the game. CC had 17 total shots as compared to 16 for CSB. St. Ben’s turned the favor in shots on goal. The Blazers had 12 shots on target while CC finished with eight. Cobber goalie Ali Nelson made 11 saves and Favorite stopped all eight shots she faced.

The Cobbers will now have to wait until Monday at 12:30 p.m. to find out if they are one of the teams to receive an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. The selection show will be broadcast live o the NCAA website.