Cobber Athletics 2010s Top 10
Cobber Athletics Top Lists of the 2010s
Top 10 Individuals From 2010s | Top 10 Games From 2010s
Here is an unofficial list of the Top 10 games and individuals of the 2010s. The Top 10 games were factored by MIAC/NCAA importance, drama, significance in a season or career. The factors weren't necessarily taken into consideration in order nor total accumulation of all categories. The Top 10 individuals list was determined by the impact the player had on the team or teams, how well the teams they played on succeeded, their overall ability to play at a high level and impact important MIAC/NCAA games and awards won. Like the game Top 10, the determination was not made by one single category or accumulation of all categories.
These lists were meant to bring back great memories of the past 10 years of Cobber athletics and showcase how amazing the decade of the 2010s was for Cobber athletics.
*** Please Note - these lists were made by the Sports Information Director who had the privilege to witness all the games and incredible student/athletes over the past 10 years. This list is not an official list compiled by the entire athletic department and only represents the view point of one person.
If you have any questions, thoughts, concerns about this list please e-mail me at: cobbersportsinformation@gmail.com and I will let you know why I made the decision. Please be willing to explain why your selection should be on the list/higher on the list.
Thanks for all your support over the past 10 years!
Top 10 Cobber Athletics Individuals From 2010s
1. Phil Moenkedick (2008-11) – Wrestling
Phil Moenkedick was a 2-time NCAA Champion and one of only five student/athletes in school history to win multiple individual NCAA national championships. He was also a 3-time All-American and a 4-time NCAA Region Champion.
Moenkedick went 135-10 in his four seasons at Concordia and had over 30 wins in three of his four years in maroon and gold. He won the NCAA title in 2010 and 2011 and lost only three matches in his final two seasons of competition.
Moenkedick’s 135 overall victories are a school record. He also had an 11-3 record at his four NCAA National Meet appearances and was a perfect 16-0 at NCAA regional meets.
1. Cherae Reeves (2012-15) – Women’s Track & Field
Cherae Reeves was a 2-time NCAA Champion and also one of only five student/athletes in school history to win multiple individual NCAA national championships. She was also a 6-time All-American and still holds the school record in both the indoor and outdoor shot put events.
Reeves earned her second national championship on the second attempt of the shot put in the finals at the 2015 NCAA National Outdoor Meet. She entered the finals in second place and then won the
championship on her second attempt of the finals when she posted a distance of 49-03.50. That mark broke her own school record of 48-10.25 which she set in 2014.
Her outdoor national championship came months after Reeves won the national championship in the shot put at the NCAA National Indoor Meet. She claimed the championship by posting a mark of 48-03.25 in her fourth attempt. She won the title by a full foot.
In addition to her national honors, Reeves finished her storied career at Concordia as a 4-time MIAC Champion and a 7-time MIAC All-Conference performer. Reeves also posted third-place finishes at the 2014 and 2013 national outdoor meet.
Reeves won the shot put at the MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Meet in her junior and senior seasons and was the champion in the event at the conference indoor meet in 2014 and 2015. Reeves also earned the MIAC Outstanding Performance-of-the-Meet honor at 2015 conference indoor meet.
3. Jenna Green (2008-11) – Volleyball/Women’s Basketball
Pop quiz – how many 3-time All-Americans Cobber athletes from a team sport can you name? If you read the title line for this Top 10 entry then you know one of the three Cobber team sport athletes who have ever earned All-American honors in three season. Jenna Green joined the elite company of Chris Coste and Becca Shane as 3-time All-Americans after leading Concordia to the best season in program history in 2011.
Green was one of the leaders who helped the Cobbers win the 2011 MIAC regular-season championship and conference tournament title. Those two feats helped Concordia host its first, and only, NCAA Regional Tournament. The Cobbers made it all the way to the Sweet 16 before falling in the regional championship in front of the largest crowd to ever witness a volleyball match in school history.
While the 2011 season was the icing on the cake for Green, the rest of her career was just as remarkable. And one thing you probably didn’t know about the No.3 athlete from the 2010s is that she was also an All-Conference honoree in basketball for the only year she was a 2-sport athlete.
Green finished her volleyball career as a 3-time All-American, a 3-time All-Region honoree, a 3-time All-MIAC award winner and the MIAC MVP in 2011. She was also named the MIAC Rookie of the Year in the only season she didn’t earn all-conference honors.
Green is also a school record holder as she finished with 1,501 digs over four years which is almost 200 more than the next best athlete. In addition to her 1,501 digs, Green also had a school-record 4,354 attack attempts and finished with 1,381 kills which is third most in program history.
Green helped the Cobber volleyball team earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament in three of the four seasons. Concordia advanced to the Sweet 16 in two of those three years.
In her one season on the basketball team she helped the Cobbers to a 19-9 overall record, a second-place finish with a 17-5 MIAC record and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. She was second on the team in scoring in 2009 with a 10.3 points per game average. She led the team in blocks and was second in rebounds per game.
Her basketball career ended with her being named to both the MIAC All-Conference and All-First Year Teams.
4. Sarah Rounds (2009-12) – Women’s Soccer
If you only had the fact that Sarah Rounds finished as the all-time leading scorer in Cobber women’s soccer history that might put her into the Top 10 of the decade. But when you add back-to-back MIAC MVP honors and back-to-back All-American awards you have the stuff of a Top 5 athlete in any decade.
Rounds was the offensive force behind Concordia’s domination which saw them win two MIAC regular-season championships and a pair of conference tournament titles.
If you’re looking for someone who helped her team to unprecedented success – look no farther. During Rounds’ four seasons in maroon and gold the Cobbers posted a remarkable 60-14-14 overall record and a 34-4-6 mark in the MIAC. She played in the NCAA tournament in four seasons and made the Sweet 16 in three of the four trips to the national playoffs.
As far as postseason awards go, Rounds is one of only two players in MIAC history to win the MIAC MVP honor in back-to-back seasons when she earned the award in 2011 and 2012. She was also was one of only two players in program history to earn All-American honors in multiple seasons. Rounds also earned All-Region honors in three straight seasons as well as three consecutive MIAC All-Conference awards.
How about school records” Got those too. Rounds finished her storied 4-year career with 51 goals and 36 assists for a school-record 138 points. That total is four more than Morgan Bain who was also a 2-time All-American. Rounds totaled at least 29 points in all four seasons and led the team in scoring in three of her four years.
5. Brandon Zylstra – (2013-16) – Football/Men’s Track & Field
Cobber fans sometimes forget about the best physical athlete of the decade was that Brandon Zylstra was a 2-sport athlete who was a 2-time champion in track and field.
Zylstra’s resume on the football field after graduation is well told as he went on to lead the Canadian Football League (CFL) in receiving in 2017 and then went on to play for the Minnesota Vikings and is now a member of the Carolina Panthers in the NFL.
During his 3-year tenure with the Cobbers, Zylstra was a 3-time MIAC All-Conference honoree. He was a human highlight film every time he touched the ball who led the Cobbers in receiving for three straight years. Zylstra finished his career with 120 receptions for 1,932 receiving yards and 18 TDs in only three seasons. He is in the Top 6 on the Cobber all-time list in total career receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
Zylstra made a huge impact for the Cobber track and field team in 2015- his only season of competition. He helped Concordia to its only Top 5 finish at an MIAC conference meet since 2008.
Zylstra packed a long list of achievements in his short track and field career. He won the conference long jump at both the indoor and outdoor meets in 2015 and he went on to break the Cobber outdoor high jump record when he cleared 6-10.75 at the MIAC meet at Macalester.
Zylstra was first in the long jump and second in the high jump in both the conference indoor and outdoor meets in 2015 and finished with four MIAC All-Conference awards in his lone season in track and field.
6. Libby Fransdal (2011-15) – Women’s Soccer/Hockey
There are many reasons why former Cobber women’s soccer and hockey standout Libby Fransdal is No.6 on the list of the top athletes of the 2010s but the two that stand out the most are the fact she was one of the few multiple All-MIAC award winners in two different team sports and she played in a remarkable 171 total games a ridiculous 22 playoff games over her career.
Fransdal also succeeded during transition in both sports as she played for five different coaches during her career. And we can’t forget that she was also a team captain in both sports.
Another eye-opening item about Fransdal is that she came into a women’s soccer program that had won three MIAC titles in five years and proceeded to start in her freshman season at the team’s most important position on defense. She then proceeded to start in 86 straight games over her 4-year soccer career.
Fransdal finished her soccer career by becoming only the fourth player in program history to earn All-American honors. She was also a 3-time All-Region award winner and was named to the MIAC All-Conference Team in three straight seasons.
As far as helping the Cobbers succeed on the soccer field, she played in 14 total postseason games which included four straight MIAC playoffs, three NCAA Tournament appearances and a pair of trips to the NCAA Sweet 16.
The final argument for Fransdal being No.6 on the all-decade list is that she was the best defensive player in program history.
On the rink she was a 2-time MIAC All-Conference award winner who helped Concordia earn the only NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. In her senior season she was the top defenseman in the league.
Fransdal played in 85 games in her 4-year hockey career and helped the Cobbers earn a spot in the MIAC playoffs in four straight seasons.
7. Chad Johnson (2014-18) – Football/Baseball
Concordia has produced some incredible 2-sport athletes over the history of the athletic department. Glyndon, Minn. native Chad Johnson continued that tradition and starts a run of three straight 2-sport athletes in the Top 10 of the decade.
Johnson was the MIAC MVP in football in his senior season and went on to hit .284 and hammer 15 career home runs for the Cobber baseball team.
Johnson earned his accolades on the football field where he finished his career as the school’s all-time touchdown leader. He was a 3-time All-MIAC award winner and was named a D3football.com All-American in his senior year in 2017. Johnson also went on to earn the Bobby Bell College Impact Player of the Year honoree as awarded by Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation.
Johnson finished his career with 42 touchdowns in 40 career games. He also owns the school record for rushing yards per game in a single season which he set in 2017 when he averaged 126.2 yards per game. Johnson is also second on the school's all-time list in rushing yards in a career (2,699), touchdowns in a single season (17) and rushing yards in a single season (1,262).
On the baseball diamond Johnson was a 4-year starter who finished his career by playing in 121 games and recording 116 hits. His 116 career hits are tied for 19th on the school’s career hit list.
8. Caleb Suderman (2011-14) – Men’s Hockey
Caleb Suderman was one of the top defenseman to ever put on skates in the history of Cobber men’s hockey. The Winkler, Man. native earned just about every award in his senior season and went on to play professional hockey.
Suderman will go down in the history books as the top scoring defenseman in Cobber history. He finished his incredible 4-year career with 35 goals and 38 assists for 73 points. He also owns the second highest single-season point total by a blueliner when he put up 30 points in his senior year of 2014.
After his senior season Suderman was named the Co-MVP of the MIAC and went on to earn ACHA All-American honors. Suderman was also a finalist for the Division III Player of the Year in 2014.
Suderman also had consistency on his side over his four seasons as a Cobber. He is one of only five men’s hockey players to earn MIAC All-Conference honors in all four seasons. Suderman is also in the Top 10 of the program for total games played. He finished by appearing in 103 games played for Concordia.
9. Kaari Jensen (2010-13) – Women’s Track & Field
Kaari Jensen is probably one of the best all-around athletes in the decade of the 2010s. She is a 2-time All-American and a 6-time MIAC champion but what really pushes her to the head of the track and field athlete class is that she still holds a pair of Cobber records and during her senior season she finished in the Top 6 in five different events at the MIAC Outdoor Championship Meet.
Jensen still holds the Concordia record for the heptathlon and pentathlon. She won the MIAC heptathlon in back-to-back season in her junior and senior years and was the MIAC pentathlon champ in 2013. Jensen went on to earn All-American honors in 2012 and 2013 in the heptathlon where she finished in the Top 5 at the NCAA Outdoor Championship Meet in both seasons.
The list of her conference and region awards is just as impressive. She earned 14 different All-MIAC or All-MIAC Honorable Mention honors during her incredible career. She earned MIAC Most Outstanding Performance-of-the Meet honors in 2012 and was twice named the USTFCCCA Central Region Field Athlete of the Year in 2012 and 2013.
On top of her athletic honors, she was also 2-time CoSIDA Academic All-American.
10. Jordan Bolger (2013-16) - Men's Basketball/Maddy Genreau (2012-15) - Women's Hockey
A pair of winter student/athletes starts the individual Top 10 list. Both players were named the MIAC MVP in their senior seasons and both received All-American honors.
Jordan became the first player in men's basketball history to be named to the NABC All-American First Team. He was named the Joe Hutton MIAC MVP in 2016 and went on to play in the Reece’s NABC Division III All-Star Game. Jordan was named to the D3hoops.com West All-Region First Team and was a 3-year All-MIAC honoree.
Maddy became the first player in women’s hockey history to be named the MIAC MVP when she won the award in 2015. She was also the second player in program history to earn All-American honors. Maddy was also a finalist for the Laura Hurd Division III Player of the Year. Maddy was also a 3-time All-MIAC honoree.
Top 10 Cobber Games From 2010s
1. Baseball vs. Univ. of Minnesota – Bucky Burgau’s Final Game – May 7, 2014
We went for the big Hollywood ending for the top game of the 2010s. When Cobber baseball coach Bucky Burgau announced that the 2014 season would be his 36th, and final season, no one would have guessed the story book ending that awaited to his Hall of Fame career.
Burgau finished his career with a record-setting 711 wins and the 711th might have been the most memorable. Concordia led for all nine innings as they posted an improbable 3-2 win over Division University of Minnesota on May 7 in a game that featured two Minnesota baseball coaching legends – Burgau and Gopher head coach John Anderson.
Concordia entered the game with a 17-16 record while the Gophers would finish the year with a 23-20 mark.
Burgau knew that it would be a longshot to beat Minnesota. Before the game he commented, “I didn't know what to expect at first. You always look forward to playing the Gophers. They have a deep tradition and I have real respect for John Anderson and their program. But I thought our guys were ready to rock and roll. I could just tell they were ready to go into the game and give it the best they could."
The Cobbers jumped on the Gophers in the very first inning, scoring a pair of runs on an a pair of doubles from Eric Carlsen and Devin Johnson. The Concordia pitching staff went to work and only allowed two runs over nine innings. Justin Anderson went the first 2.1 innings and allowed the only two runs of the game as the Gophers plated two in the third inning.
William Jacobsen entered the game and threw 2.2 scoreless innings before Burgau turned to Ross Merriman and Bryce Feia - two of his best pitchers that season.
“We saved our guys that have pitched the best for the end of the game because we figured if we had a shot, we could throw our best guys at the end," Burgau said of the strategy that allowed him to go out a winner.
Merriman and Feia didn’t disappoint as they went the final 4.0 innings, allowed only three hits and pitched out of jams in the sixth, eighth and ninth innings.
The Cobbers scored the game-winning run in the fourth inning. Catcher Tim Carlson drove in the game-winning run when he grounded out to first base. Carlson's ground out winner plated Johnson who singled to start the inning, advanced to second on a walk by Jordan Gefroh and then to third on a passed ball.
The bottom of the ninth provided the final drama for Burgau’s coaching career. The Gophers put runners on first and second with a pair of one out singles and then Feia was able to induce a fly out to left field and a ground out to second base to complete the Hollywood ending.
"It is a pretty special way to go out," remarked Burgau. "This is a memory I will have for a very long time. It was like the players on this team willed the victory."
2. Volleyball vs. St. Thomas – MIAC Tournament Championship – Nov. 5, 2011
The 2011 MIAC tournament championship had it all – two great teams, drama, significance and a title on the line. The one thing it proved to be was a catalyst for Concordia to host the only NCAA Regional in school history which led to the biggest crowd in Memorial Auditorium in the decade.
The Cobbers entered the conference tournament championship match on Nov. 5, 2011 having won 12 straight matches and 18 matches at home. Concordia was the co-champs in the MIAC regular-season title with a 10-1 record. The Tommies came to Moorhead having won 16 consecutive matches and was also co-champs with the identical 10-1 MIAC record.
Both teams knew that the winner of the match would probably host the regional and have home court advantage for the first three matches of the NCAA playoffs.
Concordia would have to rally in the match as they dropped the first set 26-24 and then fell behind 2-1 after losing the third set 25-22. It looked bleak for the Cobbers in the fourth set. St. Thomas bolted to a 4-0 lead before Concordia head coach Tim Mosser took a match-changing timeout. CC came out after the break and won five straight points to take a 5-4 lead. From there they were able to slowly pull away from the Tommies and take a 15-11 lead. UST rallied and got to within one point on five different occasions before a pair of UST attack errors gave Concordia the 25-22 win.
Concordia then won the match in the first nine points of the fifth-set tiebreaker. The Cobbers raced to a 7-2 lead and then traded points to record a 15-8 win and capture the conference tournament title.
The difference in the match came in the fifth set where Concordia hit .304 and held St. Thomas to a .074 attack percentage.
The two frontline stars for Concordia stepped into the spotlight when they were needed the most. Jenna Green and Katie Vohnoutka awoke in the fourth set and carried CC to the win. Green finished with a 20-20 as she came away with a match-high 20 kills and also had 22 digs. Vohnoutka came up with clutch points in the middle and had 17 kills and 11 digs. Amy Sykora had 52 assists while Ashley Beseman provided big-time points and finished with nine kills, three blocks and finished with a team-high .304 attack percentage. Alison Bruggeman recorded 12 huge kills and added 16 and defensive specialist Rachel Wiinanen also saved the team by coming up with several point-saving digs. Wiinanen had 20 digs on the night.
3. Women’s Basketball vs. St. Catherine – MIAC Regular-Season Title Clincher – Feb. 13, 2013
Can you imagine breaking a 23-year title MIAC drought & having a 1,000-pt. scorer and a player reach the 500-rebound milestone all in one game? That's what happened in the No.3 game of the decade when women's basketball clinched the MIAC regular-season title in 2013, senior Tricia Sorensen netted her 1,000 point and junior Alexandra Lippert collected her 500th rebound at home against St. Catherine.
The dominant MIAC program of the 1980’s and early 90’s hadn’t won a conference regular-season crown since the 1990 season. The Cobbers enjoyed MIAC playoff success, capturing the postseason title in 2011 and making the championship game on a pair of other occasion but it was a regular-season crown that head coach Jessica Rahman really wanted.
Rahman reached her goal as she guided the Cobbers to a 19-3 conference record which was one game better than St. Thomas and St. Mary’s.
Concordia had an 8-game win streak at the end of January and had won nine of 10 heading into their Feb. 13 home game with St. Catherine. The Cobbers took all the drama out of the title clincher by starting the game on a 14-0 run and sprinted to an 18-point lead at the break. CC went on to win the game 80-46 to win clinch the title.
After the game Rahman summed up the MIAC regular-season title by saying, “"It's so exciting. It's such an elusive thing to get and it is so difficult. It's been a long time coming and the kids have worked really hard and I can't be more proud of the accomplishment."
The biggest points of drama in the game came from the two individual milestone achievements of Sorensen and Lippert.
Sorensen drained a 3-point basket with 4:46 left in the first half to become the 25th player in program history to reach the 1000-point mark for a career. She was also the 10th athlete in school history to score 1000 points and grab 500 rebounds. Sorensen was one of four Cobber starters to finish in double figures in scoring. She came away with 12 points and six rebounds.
The other individual milestone belonged to Lippert who became the 16th player in program history to reach the 500-rebound mark. Lippert had six rebounds in the clincher and added 13 points. Her milestone rebound came just after Sorensen’s when she grabbed a defensive board at the 2:42 mark of the opening half.
4. Women’s Soccer vs. Augsburg – MIAC Tournament Championship – Nov. 3, 2012
In the most exciting MIAC playoff game of the decade, the Cobber women’s soccer team outlasted Augsburg in an overtime 10-kick shootout to win the 2012 conference tournament championship and claim the rare double of winning the regular season and playoff championships.
The Cobbers breezed through the MIAC regular season by winning the title with a 10-1-0 record. They won the title by three games over St, Olaf and Augsburg. Concordia beat fourth-place St. Benedict in the semifinals and then faced an up-and-coming Auggie team in the tournament championship game.
Concordia had the majority of the play throughout the two 45-minuteregulation periods and then into overtime. The Cobbers wound up outshooting Augsburg 17-6 for the game, including 9-2 in shots on goal. CC was unable to finish one of their many crossing attempts or combination plays through the middle of the field and were forced to roll the dice in the penalty kick shootout.
The penalty kick shootout unfolded in two different tales. The first seven shooters for both teams put on a penalty kick clinic while the final three for both squads could barely find the goal. Both teams wound up making four of their first five spot kicks to send it into a sudden-death situation. With Augsburg going first, the teams then traded misses with the tension mounting with each errant kick. The 10th Auggie kicker missed the frame which set the stage for freshman Sadie Hayes. Hayes went away from the placement principle of penalty kick taking and just hammered a low shot that beat the Augsburg keeper on the ground to her left. The successful kick set off a celebration of the Cobber team and the die-hard fans that had watched almost three hours of soccer.
Concordia goalie Ali Nelson made two saves during the course of the game and then made two shootout saves to help CC earn the championship.
5. Women’s Basketball vs. St. Thomas – MIAC Tournament Championship – Feb. 26, 2011
What’s better than winning an MIAC championship? Winning it on the No.1 seed’s court to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament of course.
That’s what the Cobber women’s basketball team did on February 26, 2011 when they rolled over No.1-seeded St. Thomas 71-61 in St. Paul in the title game of the MIAC playoffs. The victory earned Concordia its second trip to the national tournament in three seasons.
Concordia had a very successful regular season as they finished 17-5 in conference play and was second in the final league standings. The Cobbers finished the conference regular season by winning four straight games and six of the last seven games.
The Cobbers started the postseason by hosting St. Benedict in the semifinals of the conference tournament. Concordia outscored the Blazers in each half and won 78-69. That win set up the showdown with St. Thomas in the tournament title game.
St. Thomas finished conference play with an 18-4 record and beat Gustavus in the semifinals.
The teams split the regular-season series so it looked like an even game on paper but the Cobbers erased that idea by scoring the first eight points of the game and led gate-to-wire to claim the championship.
Concordia led by as many as 15 points in the first half and took a 33-25 lead into the break. The Tommies were able to cut the lead to a single point at 37-36 with 16:02 left in the second half but a 3-pointer from Emily Thesing gave CC a 40-36 lead. UST would trim the lead to two points on a pair of occasions but never took the lead as Concordia was able to come up with clutch baskets in response to the Tommie surge.
The Cobbers finally put the game out of reach with a 14-3 run midway through the period which turned a 42-40 nail biter into a comfortable 56-43 margin. St. Thomas would never get to within eight points for the remainder of the game.
Erica Nord was 3-for-7 from outside the arc and finished with a team-high 17 points. Thesing, who went on to be named the MIAC MVP in 2013, put up 15 points while Maggie Bauernfeind recorded a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Brittany Jossart gave CC four players in double figures as she scored 13 points and added six assists.
6. Football vs. 6-Time NCAA Champion Wis.-Whitewater – Sept. 9, 2017
Who knew that when head coach Terry Horan booked a 2-year game agreement with 6-time NCAA Champion Wis.-Whitewater it would produce the best game at The Jake in the decade and the No.6 game in the 2010s for Cobber athletics.
Concordia sent a shock wave through the DIII football world when it used a last-minute goal line stand to beat the 2016 national quarterfinalist 25-17.
Horan commented after the game, “This is as big as it comes. The belief our players had and the way they executed the game plan was inspiring. It took a total team effort to beat a great program."
The Cobbers opened the 2017 season by beating Neb. Wesleyan on the road and then opened the home schedule by scoring on their opening drive against Whitewater. Concordia led for all but 19 seconds in the game but needed a goal line stand in the final minute of play to finish the upset.
Whitewater was able to drive the ball down the field and moved inside the Concordia 10-yard line with under 1-minute to play. That's when the Cobber defense stiffened. The first-down play was a rush and brought the ball to the 3-yard line. A second-down carry brought the ball to the 1-yard line before Concordia jammed the line of scrimmage and held UWW out of the end zone.
After a Whitewater timeout, the Warhawks tried to beat the CC defense around the right end. However, Alex Berg was in the right spot at the right time as he shot the gap between the guard and tackle and was able to make a diving stop that tripped up the Whitewater running back.
Running back Chad Johnson scored two touchdowns and ran for 146 yards while Jason Montonye added the other Cobber score.
Concordia ran for 240 yards, had 336 yards of total offense and had the ball for 31:19 in the game.
Concordia vs Wis.-Whitewater Highlights
7. Men’s Basketball vs. #1 St. Thomas – January 21, 2013
The 2013 Cobber men’s basketball season would finish as one of the most successful in program history but it was a single game that defined the second-place MIAC finish for the season.
Concordia started the 2013 calendar year that season by winning five straight league games which jumped them into sole possession of second place. The Cobbers then dropped a pair of road games and headed into their home showdown with No.1-ranked St. Thomas needing a win to stay in the Top 5 of the conference standings.
It was the first win in program history over a No.1-ranked team.
Not only did the Cobbers end their losing skid but they also pulled off the biggest upset in MIAC basketball that season by beating the top-ranked Tommies 54-52 in an “instant classic”.
The win over St. Thomas would start a finishing streak for Concordia that saw the team win eight of their final regular-season games. The red-hot streak propelled CC to second place in the final league standings which was the best finish since the 1996 season.
Senior center Jason Huus recapped the big win by saying, “It was the greatest moment of my life – by far.”
Huus scored the final seven points in the Cobbers’ 2-point win but it was a last-second defensive stand that sealed the upset. Concordia’s defense denied the Tommies a good look at the basket after UST inbounded the ball under the Cobber basket with 2.8 seconds left on the game clock.
Huus finished with nine points, 11 rebounds and four blocks to lead CC. Andrew Martinson put up a team-high 11 points and Ebo Nan-Kweson had four assists. The defensive play of the game came from Dewon McKenzie who hustled to contest the possible game-winning 3-pointer for St. Thomas.
Video of the last 2.9 seconds from the Cobbers' win over #1 St. Thomas
8. Men’s Hockey vs. Norwich – PrimeLink Tournament Championship – November 29, 2014
Most college teams take a break for the Thanksgiving holiday but that weekend in 2014 turned out to be one of the Top games of the decade for Cobber athletics. The men’s hockey team was invited to participate in the prestigious PrimeLink Tournament hosted by Middlebury (Vt.).
No invited team had ever won the PrimeLink in the first 16 years of the tournament but that all changed when Concordia beat No.2-ranked Norwich in a shootout in the championship game.
The Cobbers downed host Middlebury in the semifinals. It marked the first time a team from the West had ever won a game in the PrimeLink.
Concordia then rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the championship game against Norwich to send the game into overtime. Jordie Bancroft got the Cobbers within one when he scored at 7:07 of the second period and then Jordan Krebsbach tied the game in the fifth minute of the third period. The teams skated through the final 15 minutes of regulation and five minutes of OT without producing another goal so the game officially ended in a 2-2 tie.
Concordia earned the victory in the shootout by scoring on two of their five attempts while Cobber freshman goalie Alex Reichle stopped four of the five shootout attempts by Norwich. Andrew Deters scored on the very first shootout shot but then CC was held scoreless in their final two attempts of the regulation shootout period. Reichle stopped the first two Norwich shots but then the Cadets connected on their third to send it into extra shots. Neither team made their fourth shot and then freshman Jon Grebosky stepped up and went to his backhand and then lifted he puck into the top shelf of the net to give CC a 2-1 lead. Reichle then stood his ground and stopped the final Norwich shooter to give Concordia the win.
9. Volleyball vs. St. Benedict – MIAC Regular-Season Title Clincher – Oct. 29, 2011
There’s nothing like clinching an MIAC regular-season title, especially when it comes in a 5-set thriller. That was the case for the Cobber women’s volleyball team when they beat St. Benedict 3-2 on Oct. 29 to clinch the 2011 MIAC regular season championship. The regular-season title was only the second in the history of the program.
Not only was the match of historical importance because of the title but it would also set off a chain of events that would lead to the greatest stretch in Cobber volleyball history.
The match also featured the end of the Cobbers’ 30-set win streak. Concordia had won 30 straight sets entering the match and had rattled off 10 straight sweeps over their opponents. St. Ben’s would stun the Cobbers by taking the first set 25-23 and would then hold a 2-1 lead with a 25-21 win in the third set. Concordia then showed their championship character by taking the fourth set 25-20 and then rolling to a 15-7 win in the fifth set.
Concordia hit .235 for the match which included a .500 mark in the second set and a .389 clip when the match was on the line in the fifth set. The Cobber defense limited St. Ben's to a .115 attack percentage for the match.
Senior Jenna Green came away with a match-high 22 kills for the Cobbers. She also had 14 digs. Fellow senior Katie Vohnoutka added 12 kills and three blocks. Ashley Beseman once again provided clutch points in a big match. She tied a career high with six blocks and added four kills. Amy Sykora had a match-high 45 assists.
10. Cobber Women's Hockey vs. St. Thomas - MIAC Semifinals - March 1, 2012
The Cobber women’s hockey team made the MIAC playoffs in eight of the 10 years in the 2010s. Of those eight playoff appearances Concordia advanced to the conference championship one occasion. That came in 2012 and is our No.10 game of the 2010s.
Led by head coach Brett Bruininks, Concordia finished second in the MIAC regular season standings in 2012. It was only the second time in program history that the Cobbers had finished in second place in the league standings. For their second-place finish, Concordia was able to host a semifinal game and came up against St. Thomas who finished in third place with an 11-6-1 MIAC record. The Cobber dominated the Tommies in the semifinal game as they scored three unanswered goals in the second and third periods to cruise to a 4-1 win. Breann Julius factored in all four goals in the game with two goals and two assists and goalie Rebecca Hendrickson made 28 saves.
The victory marked the third time that season that Concordia had beaten the Tommies and was even more important for the Cobbers because it helped them clinch their first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. Concordia earned a trip to New York where they played No.1-ranked RIT in the first round of the national playoffs.