Posted: Nov 12, 2011
Nelson Shines In NCAA Tournament Penalty Kick Win
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (11/12/11)—
Ali Nelson stopped two penalty kicks while
Kelsey Swagger, Sarah Rounds and
Libby Fransdal converted for Concordia to help the
Cobbers beat Puget Sound in a shootout in the first round of the
NCAA Tournament held at California Lutheran in Thousand Oaks,
Calif. on Saturday.
The result will go down as a tie in the official record book but with the penalty kick victory, Concordia advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season. The Cobbers are now 12-3-6 on the season. The six ties are the most of any school in Division III.
It took Concordia a full 25 minutes to get acclimated with the speed of play and the pace of the Loggers. The Cobbers finally started to get into the game towards the end of the first half but not before Puget Sound had taken a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute of play. The goal came on the left wing when Logger senior Jenny Moore was played free on the left win in the Cobbers’ defensive third of the field. Moore was able to control the ball and then cut the ball back inside of the on rushing CC defender. Moore then lofted a shot over the top of Nelson who got a hand on the ball but couldn’t push it over the bar.
Concordia then stepped up their play and outshot the Loggers in the final 25 minutes of the half. The Cobbers held a 6-5 edge in shots for the first 45 minutes.
CC finally equalized in the 75th minute when Rounds struck a perfectly placed dead ball from 19 yards out to level the game at 1-1. Gina Weiss broke free from the Puget Sound defense on the right wing but was then taken down by the Loggers’ goalie just outside the penalty area. Rounds then stepped up and cracked the direct kick over the wall and into the top right corner of the net. For Rounds it was her team-leading 14th goal of the season.
Neither team was able to get a quality chance in the final 15 minutes of play and the game headed into sudden-death overtime. Puget Sound came away with the best chance in the two 10-minute extra periods. A Logger shot beat Nelson but junior defender Molly Voightlander cleared the ball off the line to help preserve the tie.
It was all Nelson in the penalty kick shootout. The first Puget Sound player tried to beat Nelson on her left side but she came up with a diving side. Swagger then placed home the first PK for the Cobbers to put CC up 1-0. The second Puget Sound kicker then hit the post and watched as the ball caromed away from goal. Rounds then followed with precision as she netted CC’s second spot kick and put the team up 2-0. The third Logger kicker finally connected and then Fransdal answered by hammering her penalty kick off the Puget Sound goalie’s hands and into the net. Nelson then put the finishing touches on the win. The fourth Logger player also tried to beat her towards the right post but Nelson dove to stop the shot and propelled Concordia into the second round.
The Cobbers will now face UC-Santa Cruz in the round of 32 on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. (cst) . The Banana Slugs beat host California Lutheran 1-0 in their first round game. Concordia and Santa Cruz played on Oct. 24 in Santa Cruz. The Banana Slugs used a second-half goal to down CC 1-0.
The result will go down as a tie in the official record book but with the penalty kick victory, Concordia advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season. The Cobbers are now 12-3-6 on the season. The six ties are the most of any school in Division III.
It took Concordia a full 25 minutes to get acclimated with the speed of play and the pace of the Loggers. The Cobbers finally started to get into the game towards the end of the first half but not before Puget Sound had taken a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute of play. The goal came on the left wing when Logger senior Jenny Moore was played free on the left win in the Cobbers’ defensive third of the field. Moore was able to control the ball and then cut the ball back inside of the on rushing CC defender. Moore then lofted a shot over the top of Nelson who got a hand on the ball but couldn’t push it over the bar.
Concordia then stepped up their play and outshot the Loggers in the final 25 minutes of the half. The Cobbers held a 6-5 edge in shots for the first 45 minutes.
CC finally equalized in the 75th minute when Rounds struck a perfectly placed dead ball from 19 yards out to level the game at 1-1. Gina Weiss broke free from the Puget Sound defense on the right wing but was then taken down by the Loggers’ goalie just outside the penalty area. Rounds then stepped up and cracked the direct kick over the wall and into the top right corner of the net. For Rounds it was her team-leading 14th goal of the season.
Neither team was able to get a quality chance in the final 15 minutes of play and the game headed into sudden-death overtime. Puget Sound came away with the best chance in the two 10-minute extra periods. A Logger shot beat Nelson but junior defender Molly Voightlander cleared the ball off the line to help preserve the tie.
It was all Nelson in the penalty kick shootout. The first Puget Sound player tried to beat Nelson on her left side but she came up with a diving side. Swagger then placed home the first PK for the Cobbers to put CC up 1-0. The second Puget Sound kicker then hit the post and watched as the ball caromed away from goal. Rounds then followed with precision as she netted CC’s second spot kick and put the team up 2-0. The third Logger kicker finally connected and then Fransdal answered by hammering her penalty kick off the Puget Sound goalie’s hands and into the net. Nelson then put the finishing touches on the win. The fourth Logger player also tried to beat her towards the right post but Nelson dove to stop the shot and propelled Concordia into the second round.
The Cobbers will now face UC-Santa Cruz in the round of 32 on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. (cst) . The Banana Slugs beat host California Lutheran 1-0 in their first round game. Concordia and Santa Cruz played on Oct. 24 in Santa Cruz. The Banana Slugs used a second-half goal to down CC 1-0.