Death, Taxes And Going To Penalty Kicks With Carleton

MOORHEAD, Minn. (11/05/14)—You can officially add a third item to the list of Ben Franklin's certainty's of life. The updated list of things certain in life will now read; death, taxes and Concordia and Carleton deciding conference playoff games in a penalty kick shootout.

The Cobbers and Knights have now played in the MIAC tournament on six occasions and four have been decided in penalty kicks.       

Concordia used the "new" glove hands of goalie Elizabeth Bitzan to down Carleton 3-0 in the penalty kicks and advance to the MIAC championship game on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. at Augsburg. Bitzan stopped all three spot kicks she faced and the Cobbers converted on all three of their kicks to come away with the win.

The penalty kick win means that the Cobbers will advance to the championship game of the conference tournament for the fourth time in the past five seasons and the ninth time in the 13-year history of the playoffs.

Concordia and Carleton battled the elements and the two top defenses in the league for 90 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of "golden goal" overtime. The game was played in 39-degree weather with a constant light rain that turned to freezing sleet and snow in the overtime periods. Carleton entered the game as the conference's top-ranked defense and Concordia was close behind as the two teams regularly shut down conference opponents. The two goalies led the MIAC in shutouts and goals against average. 

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The "defense" first mentality was evident from the opening kick as both teams set up big numbers behind the ball once they lost possession. The opening 25 minutes was spent in the middle of the field with only a few breaks into the offensive thirds of the field.

Bitzan credited her defense with communicating really well during the game.

"We also tracked those back runs stayed with marks and didn't let them get any clear chances," commented Bitzan.     

The slick field conditions also dictated that the game would be played with the teams trying to spring forwards though the back of the defense after combination play in the midfield.

The two teams also possess two of the top midfields in the MIAC which set the stage for a tremendous battle between Carleton's top scorer Ava Lewis and the Cobber midfield tandem of Laura and Marta Prosinski. Laura Prosinski's role in the game was to track down Lewis and keep her from getting loose offensively.

"That was mark the entire game," said Laura Prosinski. "I really didn't get to push up as much as I would have liked but that's fine as long as she didn't get a goal."
Carleton had more overall chances in the first half while Concordia had a pair of quality shots at net. The best chance of the opening 45 minutes fell to the foot of Cobber sophomore Paige McCullough who found herself behind the defense on the left wing. However, her shot towards the back post skidded just wide of the post.

The Cobbers tried to push the game to the Knights in the first 15 minutes of play in the second half but could never get enough time to square up for a solid shot.  Concordia had a corner kick chance and then a shot by Elizabeth Robinson just missed the target in the first three minutes of play.

Carleton finally got their legs back after halftime and their midfielders started to dictate play for the final 25 minutes of regulation. The best chance of regulation came when a Knight attacker crossed the ball in from the left wing and Lewis ran on to the ball but her header just glanced off the top of the crossbar.

Concordia then had the best chance of the entire game late in regulation. Sophomore forward Emily Wendorff and Robinson combined for a give-and-go at the right corner of the penalty area. Robinson's "go" pass sent Wendorff behind the Carleton defense. She was able to hit a hard ball towards the left corner of the goal but Knight keeper Mikayla Coulombe came out and went big to stop the ball from going into the net. The play continued on and eventually was played out to the top of the penalty area where Robinson hammered a shot that splattered off the crossbar.

Neither team would threaten after that and the game wound up going the distance to penalty kicks.

That is where Bitzan and her brand new goalie gloves took over.

Asked whether she just guessed as to which side the penalty kick take was going to shoot or if she read the shooter as she took the kick, Bitzan replied, "I was not guessing. I was doing a little reading and a little bit of waiting and watching."  

Carleton took the first PK and Bitzan collapsed to make the save. Robinson then struck the ball into the corner to give CC a 1-0 lead. Bitzan stepped back into the goal and made a full out diving save on the second shot. Senior All-American candidate Libby Fransdal then put the Cobbers up 2-0 with a well-placed shot in the corner. Bitzan then completed her hat trick of penalty kick stops with another collapsing save to her right. That set the stage for senior midfielder Laura Prosinski who calmly stepped up and hammered home the game winner.

"I try to not get nervous and just do what I have to do," commented Prosinski about taking the pressure-filled penalty kick.

The two teams were nearly even in the statistical categories. Concordia held a slight 11-10 edge in overall shots while Carleton had a 6-5 advantage in shots on goal.

Robinson had a team-high three shots for the Cobbers and Bitzan stopped all six shots she faced to earn her league-leading 11th shutout of the season.

Concordia will now head to Minneapolis to play Augsburg in the conference championship game on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Cobbers beat the Auggies 2-1 in Moorhead during the regular season. The two teams have squared off once before in the MIAC title game. Concordia earned a penalty-kick shootout win in that game back in 2012 in Moorhead.