A Grace-Ful Playoff Clincher

MOORHEAD, Minn. (10/28/23)---Concordia scored in the fourth minute of play, conceded a goal with 5:34 to play and road a rollercoaster full of emotions for the entire 90 minutes as they played St. Olaf to a 1-1 to clinch an MIAC playoff spot.

The one point for the tie in the conference standings gives the Cobbers 18 for the season. The 18 points are good for fifth place and the team's first league playoff berth since 2015.

Concordia ends the regular season with a 7-5-4 overall record and is 5-3-3 in the MIAC. The Oles, who miss out on the playoffs due to a tie-breaker, end the year with a 6-5-5 mark in all games and a 4-3-4 record against league opponents.   

Senior Grace Mork was honored before the game as part of the annual Senior Celebration Day and decided to give back to the team by scoring her first collegiate goal in the fourth minute of play.

Mork picked off an errant pass from an Ole defender in the penalty area, and fired a low, left-footed shot that snuck inside the right post.

The goal at 3:45 set the stage for a drama-filled final 86 minutes of play. Concordia knew they only needed a tie to get through to the postseason and buckled down the defense to protect the 1-goal lead.

The Oles had the statistical advantage in shots as the Cobbers packed the defense and played their usual stingy game of soccer.

The game went into full-fledged "edge of your seat" mode when St. Olaf scored at 84:26. The goal came from a cross from the left wing. An Ole attacker met the pass and 1-timed a shot that hit the crossbar and bounced down inside the 6-yard area. One of the St. Olaf forwards followed the shot and headed the ball as it reached head height. The ball sailed into the left side netting and set the stage for a dramatic last 5-minutes of play.

The ball was in the Cobber end for the majority of the final 5 minutes. Concordia successfully defended a pair of corner kicks, and then goalie Bre Nelson came up with the save of the season when she dove to her right to stop an Ole shot off of a volley in the 89th minute of play.

Nelson finished the game with six saves as Concordia was outshot 8-6 in shots on goal. The win ups Nelson's season record to 5-1-3.

Sophia Robinson led the Cobbers with a pair of shots and one on goal.

UP NEXT: Concordia will travel to St. Joseph to face St. Benedict in the MIAC quarterfinals on Monday, Oct. 30 at 2 p.m.