A Royally Tough Overtime Loss

MOORHEAD, Minn. (10/22/16)--- Concordia couldn't make a pair of first-half goals from senior Emily Wendorff stand up and lost 3-2 to Bethel in overtime.

The Cobbers held a 2-1 lead all the way until the 86th minute of play when the Royals tied the game and then Bethel won the game in the fifth minute of the first extra period.

The loss drops Concordia's overall record to 4-9-3. The Cobbers are 1-7-1 in conference play. Bethel ends a three-game losing streak and is now 11-4-1 in all games and 6-3-0 in the MIAC. BU is in third place in the league standings.

The Cobbers dominated the early part of the game and had six of the first seven corner kicks and seven shots in the first 31 minutes of play.

Wendorff got the Cobbers on the board at the 11:33 mark of the opening period when she took a pass from defender Katie Gillette on the left wing and cut in towards the Bethel goal. Wendorff played the ball to her right foot and then curled a shot from 20 yards out towards the far right post.  The ball lodged in the upper part of the net to give CC the early 1-0 lead.

Wendorff would double the lead in the 32nd minute when she tapped in a goal from three yards out off of a corner kick. Senior Paige McCullough took the kick and played the ball into the box where fellow senior Erika Grinde headed the ball towards the right post. Wendorff was left unmarked and was able to get her foot on the headed ball and deflect it past the goalie and the defender on the post.

Wendorff's second goal of the game at the 31:16 mark was her team-leading eighth of the season. McCullough earned her team-leading ninth assist on the play.

Both teams had eight total shots in the first half but the Cobbers held a 5-2 advantage in shots on goal.

The game started to turn in the Royals favor in the second half when the Cobbers tried to defend the two-goal lead.  Concordia had a pair of chances in the first two minutes of play but then Bethel started to attack.

The Royals got to within one goal at 65:30 when a Royal attacker was able to head the ball home from a cross from the right wing.

It looked like Concordia might get out of the game with the 2-1 win but then a chipped ball over the top of the CC defense inside the penalty area was played to left side of the goal just above the end line. The Bethel attacker ran on to the ball and neatly slid a left-footed shot into the far corner. The goal came at 85:20 and took the wind out of the Cobbers.

Bethel won the game at 94:12 on a breakaway that found a central midfielder making a run through the Cobber defense and she was able to play the ball into the left side of the net.
The Royals held a 19-12 edge in total shots and a 9-5 margin in shots on goal. Wendorff, McCullough and Alexandra Jones all had three shots to lead the CC offense.

Maddy Reed made six saves in goal for the Cobbers.  

EFFICIENT EMILY: Emily Wendorff leads the Cobbers in points this year with eight goals and seven assists for 23 points. She is currently tied for fifth in the MIAC in points this year. The 23 points is two shy of her career-high season total of 25 which she set last year. Wendorff now has 75 points in her career. 

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will play at Gustavus on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 1 p.m. in their final away game of the year. The Cobbers will then return home to host St. Catherine in the season finale on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m.