Rallying To Beat The Tommies

MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. (12/02/11)—Brooke Rundell and Breann Julius scored power play goals and goalie Tamara Twite stopped 28 of the 29 shots she faced as No.9-ranked Concordia rallied to beat St. Thomas 2-1 in Mendota Heights on Friday.

The Cobbers trailed 1-0 midway through the second period before Rundell and Julius put CC ahead in the final 7:00 of the frame as Concordia won for the third consecutive game. The Cobbers are now 5-1-1 in all games and 3-1-1 in the MIAC. The Tommies lose for the third straight time and fall to 1-2-3 overall and 1-3-1 in conference play.

"We did the little things right tonight'" commented head coach Brett Bruininks. "There wasn't one key to the game it was just our overall effort that helped us in the end."

That team effort helped Concordia kill off five of the six St. Thomas power play chances in the game. It also helped CC rally from a one-goal deficit after the Cobbers held the better of the play in the opening 20 minutes. After outshooting UST 9-6 in the first period, CC got behind when St. Thomas scored a power play goal at the 9:26 mark of the second frame. Concordia was able to respond less than four minutes later when Rundell was able to net the first of the two CC power play nuggets at the 13:02 mark. Senior Katelyn Dold received the assist on the play. For Rundell it was her third goal in as many games and for Dold it was her fifth assist in the last three games.

The game-winning goal came less than 7:00 later when Julius scored her fourth goal of the season. She hammered home a shot from just inside the blue line that found the upper left corner of the net. Current MIAC Player of the Week Ali Nelson added the assist on the play. Nelson now has five points in three games since joining the team after being a part of the CC women's soccer run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Concordia had several chances to grab an insurance goal in the final period but was never able to get the puck past Tommie tender Chelsey Sitzman.

The Cobbers held a slight 30-29 edge in shots on goal. Twite stopped all but one shot in earning her fourth win of the season. Sitzman made 28 saves in her first start of the year.

"In the end I was very proud of our senior leadership and the way they held the team together throughout the entire game," finished off Bruininks.

The two teams will finish off the series tomorrow afternoon at 5 p.m. in Mendota Heights.