Counterattack Sends Cobbers To At-Large Pool

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (11/08/14)—A counterattack goal in the final two minutes of the first half proved to be the difference in the MIAC championship game as Concordia conceded the lone goal of the game in the 44th minute of the first half and lost 1-0.

The loss is only the fourth of the season for the Cobbers and pushes them into the pool of candidates for one of the 20 at-large bids into the NCAA Tournament. Concordia also has a four-game unbeaten streak come to an end. CC is now 13-4-3 on the season. Augsburg claims the MIAC regular-season and tournament titles and extends its winning streak to eight games and is now 16-4-0 on the year.

The teams battled through the opening 40 minutes of play with Concordia taking it to the Auggies for the first 20 minutes but then Augsburg pushing ahead for the next 20.

The game looked like it would go to the halftime break tied at 0-0. Concordia earned a corner kick at the 43:31 mark after a venture into the final third of the Auggies. Cobber All-Region central defender Libby Fransdal went forward to take the corner kick. She played the ball into the middle of the penalty area where an Augsburg defender headed the ball clear. The ball landed on the foot of Olivia Muyres who took a couple of touches and then played teammate Molly Allen free on the right wing.

The Cobber defense was strung apart because of the dead ball in the Auggie end and didn't have time to reshape following the clearance. Fransdal, who anchors the CC defense and stops most opposing team's attacks before they start, was unable to get back in the play after serving the ball from the end line.

Allen took the pass and then dribbled with speed directly at the last Cobber defender and towards the penalty area. She got to the top of the penalty area and fired a shot that found the lower left corner of the net.

Concordia didn't have any clear-cut chances in the first part of the second half but then dialed up the pressure with 20 minutes remaining in regulation. The Cobbers held the ball in the Auggie defensive half for most of the final portion of the game and tried to play the ball wide to get a cross in or play the ball behind the Augsburg defense to make them turn and run after it. The Auggie defense did a good job of holding Concordia out of the penalty area.

The best chance in the final minutes of play came when senior Elizabeth Robinson ran on to a ball delivered deep to the left side of the penalty area. Unfortunately Robinson wasn't able to get all the way to the ball and her reaching shot with 6:00 left slid just wide of the right post.

The Auggies were able to hold the ball deep in the Concordia end several times in the final five minutes of play to seal the win.

The shot total was 14-10 in favor for Augsburg but most of the shots by both teams were not dangerous. Concordia was outshot 4-3 in shots on goal. Robinson had a team-high four shots for the game.

Junior goalie Elizabeth Bitzan made three saves while Auggie goalie Marissa Guillou stopped three shots to earn the shutout.

Concordia will now have to wait until Monday to find out if they receive one of the 20 at-large bids into the national tournament. The NCAA selection show will be at 12:00 p.m. on Monday via the NCAA.com website.