Make It A Lucky 13

MOORHEAD, Minn. (10/28/15)—At the end of September Concordia was 1-3 in the MIAC and in severe danger of missing the conference playoffs for the first time in 13 seasons. Concordia then proceeded to roll through the month of Cobbtober, going 5-1 in the league, and earned a postseason berth by beating Gustavus 3-2.

Concordia's turnaround was made possible by an offense that consistently found the back of the net. That trait was on display against the Gusties as the Cobbers scored a pair of goals 55-seconds apart in the second half to record their sixth win in the MIAC. CC has now scored at least two goals in all five victories in the month of Cobbtober.

The win pushes Concordia's overall record to 11-6-0 on the season. The Cobbers are now 6-4 in the MIAC and tied for fifth place with St. Benedict. Gustavus, who entered the weekend leading the MIAC, falls for the second straight game and drops into a three-way tie for second place. GAC is now 10-6-1 in all games and 7-3-0 in the conference.

Neither team was able to come away with quality chances in the first 40 minutes of the game as the squads battled chilling temperatures and a 15-25 mph wind. The Cobbers outshot the Gusties 7-2 in the first half going into the strong headwind.

Senior Morgan Holm opened the scoring when she curled in a shot from the top of the penalty area on the right side of the field. Morgan's corner-seeking shot nestled into the goal at 41:25. It was her sixth goal of the season and gave CC a one-goal lead at the break.

Gustavus returned the favor of holding the play going into the wind in the second half. The Gusties tied the game just 5:00 into the final period of play.

The 1-1 score line would last only six minutes before team-leading scorer Emily Wendorff struck for her ninth goal of the year. Alexandra Jones and Paige McCullough set up the score at 55:00. Wendorff has now scored a single goal in nine games in 2015 and the Cobbers are 8-1 in those nine games.

For Jones it was her seventh point of the season and she has now recorded at least one point in four of the past five games.  

McCullough would add to the Cobber lead less than a minute later. She was able to break through the center of the Gustavus defense and head towards the goal on a slight breakaway. McCulloughs first shot caromed off the goalie and went right back to McCullough who buried the rebound to give CC a 3-1 lead with 34:05 remaining in the game.

The goal was McCullough's fourth of the year and second game-winning strike in the past three games.  

Gustavus then turned up the offensive pressure and appeared to be rewarded for their effort when an attacker was tripped in the penalty area to earn a penalty kick.

One of the biggest moments of the game came on the ensuing spot kick. Cobber goalie Elizabeth Bitzan, who was playing in her first game since suffering a lower leg injury on Oct. 19, stopped the initial penalty shot. The ball rebounded right back to the player who took the kick and that is when Bitzan made the save of the game. Bitzan quickly scrambled to her feet and then turned the second shot on to the crossbar where it caromed away from goal. The Cobber defense then swarmed to the ball and was able to clear the danger before a third shot on goal could be taken.

The double save on the PK would seem even bigger when Gustavus scored four minutes later to bring the game within a goal at 3-2.

Concordia then went into "defensive" mode for the last 21 minutes as they tried to protect the lead. The Gusties nearly tied the game at 85:41 when a GAC attacker got behind the CC defense from seven yards out but her shot sailed over the crossbar.

Gustavus outshot the Cobbers 14-12 in total shots and 9-7 in shots on goal. Wendorff and Holm each had a team-high three shots.

Bitzan made seven saves to earn her 10th win of the year. She has now recorded double-digit win totals in three straight seasons.           

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will finish the regular season when they play at St. Catherine on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m.