It's The Final 6 Minutes That Counts

AUGUSTANA, Ill. (10/07/12)—Concordia made a huge case for the old adage, "it's not how you score a goal, it's when you score a goal," on Sunday at Augustana, Ill. as they scored two goals less than six minutes apart at the end of regulation and into overtime and beat the Vikings 2-1.

The game held extra significance for the two teams as both are locked in the top 10 of their region rankings. The Cobbers, who entered the game ranked third in the North Region of the latest NSCAA poll, win their fourth straight game and move to 8-2-1 while Augustana, who is ranked sixth in the Central Region, has their four-game winning streak come to an end and is now 9-3-0 on the year.

The Cobbers held a huge edge in total shots for the game but were never able to come up with a quality shot on net. CC outshot the Vikings 18-9 but the only ones that mattered were the final two strikes.  

It wasn't until the 89^th minute of play that Concordia was able to get on the scoreboard. Trailing 1-0, after allowing a goal at the 21:19 mark, the Cobbers scored from an unlikely source in an unlikely way. Concordia was pressing forward to get the equalizer when they were awarded a free kick from out on the wing 20 yards out of goal. Defender Libby Fransdal went to serve the ball into the penalty area but her cross sailed over the goalie's head and directly into the net. The well-timed, fortunate strike was Fransdal's first collegiate goal.

Concordia's momentum carried into the overtime session where Liz Robinson was able to volley home the game-winner at 93:42. The winning play started with a long ball sent towards the Augustana penalty area. The Viking goalie came out of the area and tried to head the ball away from danger. Her heading clear came right to Robinson who calmly struck a volley from the bouncing ball over the goalie's head and into the wide open goal. The score continued Robinson's recent hot streak of goals. After only scoring two goals in her first 31 collegiate games, she has now found the net three times in her last three games.

The Cobbers held a 9-6 margin in shots on goal for the game while both teams had three corner kicks in the contest. Ali Nelson stopped five of the six shots she faced to pick up the victory. Augustana keeper Meredith Chew made seven saves in the full 93:42.

Concordia will continue with their two-game Illinois road trip when they face nationally-ranked Wheaton on Monday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. The Thunder are currently ranked 16^th in the NSCAA national Poll.