Cobbers Face Bennies In MIAC Quarterfinals

MOORHEAD, Minn. (10/29/23)—Concordia will face St. Benedict in the quarterfinals of the MIAC women's soccer playoff on Monday, Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. at the CSB Stadium Turf Field in St. Jospeph, Minn. The Cobbers earned its first MIAC playoff appearance since 2015 and 14th in program history.

Below you will find all the information you need to get ready for the "second season".

TICKET INFORMATION: Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $2 for any students (5 years old and younger are free). There is no senior discount. MIAC passes will be honored. No other passes will be accepted.

WHAT: MIAC Women's Soccer Quarterfinals

WHEN: Monday, Oct. 30 at 2 p.m.

WHERE: CSB Stadium Turf Field – St. Joseph, Minn.

TEAMS: No.5 Seed Concordia (7-5-4/5-3-3 MIAC) at No.4 seed St. Benedict (9-5-3/6-3-2 MIAC)

LIVE LINKS:  Live Video | Live Stats

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Concordia secured the No.5 seed in the conference playoffs by going 5-3-3 in conference play. The Cobbers earned their first trip to the league playoffs since 2015 by going unbeaten in theor last five league games. They capped that stretch by posting a tie against St. Olaf in the regular-season finale on Saturday.   

Like the Cobbers, St. Benedict finished the regular season on an unbeaten streak. They earned their No.4 seed by going 6-3-2 in the conference. The Bennies are unbeaten in their last six games, which finished with a tie against regular-season champion Carleton on Saturday.  

RECORDS VS. OTHER PLAYOFF TEAMS: Concordia went 2-2-1 against the other five MIAC playoff teams. The Cobbers beat Macalester and Augsburg and tied St. Catherine. The Bennis went 1-2-2 in the regular season against conference playoff squads. St. Benedict beat the Cobbers earlier in October and recorded ties against Augsburg and Carleton.  

HOME AND AWAY: Concordia was 4-3-1 in away games this year. The Cobbers were 3-2 on the road against MIAC teams. St. Benedict was 5-0-3 at home this year. That includes a 3-0-2 mark against conference opponents.

PLAYOFF PEDIGREE: Concordia is making its 14th overall MIAC playoff appearance, the most of any school in the conference. The Cobbers also have the most playoff titles and most tournament wins of any program. CC is 14-9 all-time in the MIAC playoffs. The Cobbers have won the MIAC playoff tournament on four occasions (2006, 2007, 2010, 2012)  and have played in the title game nine times which included a stretch of five straight years from 2004-08. Concordia is 1-8 on the road in the MIAC postseason and 1-0 in quarterfinal games.

St. Benedict is making its 13th trip to the conference postseason. This will be the Bennies sixth straight conference tournament appearance. St. Benedict is 7-10 all-time in the playoffs. CSB has won the postseason championship on two occasions (2011, 2013) and has played in the title game five times, most recently in 2021. St. Benedict is 7-2 in playoff games at home. One of the two losses came last season when they fell in a PK shootout against St. Catherine. The Bennies are 1-3 in quarterfinal games.      

PLAYOFF HEAD-TO-HEAD: This year's quarterfinal game will be a renewal of one off the most-played match-ups in MIAC playoff history. The teams have faced each other five times, including the Cobbers' very first postseason appearance in 2003. St. Benedict holds a 3-2 edge in the postseason series. The least time the two teams met in the playoffs was in 2013 in the semifinals where CSB recorded a 2-1 win.    

REGULAR SEASON MATCH-UP: Concordia lost 2-0 when the two teams met in the regular season on Oct. 12. The Bennies scored both goals in the second half in a span of seven minutes. 

Both teams had six total shots in the first half of play, with neither team being able to get on the board. The game changed in the 59th minute of play when one of the CSB defenders played a long ball down the left wing. The St. Ben's attacker ran on to the ball, dribbled all the to the end line and knocked the ball back across the face of the goal. The ball hit one of the players in front of the goal and caromed into the back of the net. The own goal at goal came at 58:24 and gave CSB the 1-goal lead.

The second strike came at 65:10 when one of the St. Ben's attackers turned on a Cobber defender from 25 yards out of goal and took a dribble before firing a left-footed shot into the top left corner of the net.

Concordia had a pair of chances in the final 8 minutes of play, but Sophia Robinson's shot was saved, and an attempt from Amber Weibye went wide.

St. Ben's held a 21-10 advantage in total shots and a 12-4 edge in shots on goal. Emma Sheflo led CC with four total shots and two shots on frame. Weibye added three, and Kara Ellis came off the bench to post a pair of shots.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: How each team ranks in the MIAC for conference games only.

STAT STARS: Concordia's offense is led by the trio of Emma Sheflo, Sophia Robinson and Chloe Sollom. Sheflo and Robinson were tie for the team lead in goals in conference play with two. Sollom was tied for eighth in the MIAC in assists in league games with three. Sheflo and Robinson were also in the Top 20 of the MIAC in shots on goal. Sheflo was eighth with 21 and Robinson was 13th with 17.  

Cobber goalie Bre Nelson played in seven of the team's 11 conference games and finished fifth in the MIAC in goals against average (0.87) and seventh in saves (35).   

When talking about the St. Benedict offense, one player comes to the forefront - senior Abby Willenbring. Willenbrging scored in five of the last six games for CSB and led the team with five goals and two assists in league games. She was fourth in the MIAC in goals, sixth in total points and 15th in total shots (26). Junior Alli Voss led the team in shots against league foes with 31.    

Bennie keeper Annie Waters pled in nine of the 11 MIAC games and was third in GAA (0.47) and 10th in saves (30).