Spring Of 1-Goal Games Continues

MOORHEAD, Minn. (4/18/21)---Concordia has played four games this spring – and all four have been decided by a single goal. The Cobber hosted a pair of games at Jake Christiansen Stadium over the weekend and lost 2-1 in overtime against St. Mary's on Saturday and 1-0 to Augsburg on Sunday.

The conditions for the two games were polar opposites with the game against the Cardinals played in sunshine and warm temps while the contest against the Auggies was a survival battle with temperatures in the mid 30's, rain and snow, and wind gusts up to 30 mph.

Senior Samantha Dalsin came through with the lone goal of the weekend. She scored a beautiful diving header on Saturday which tied the game in the 65th minute of play.

ST. MARY'S GAME RECAP: Concordia started slowly on Saturday but then accelerated the pace in the second half. After not putting up a shot in the first half, the Cobbers held possession in the second 45 minutes and had several attacking chances.

The teams played through a scoreless first half with neither having any quality scoring chances. The opening goal of the game would come at 63:05 when an SMU player got free on the left wing and slid a pass to the middle of the penalty area for a shot from in front of the goal.

Concordia's answer was swift and taken with a lot of quality. Senior Klara Beinhorn was able to break free of the SMU defense on the left wing and whip the ball into the front of the goal. Dalsin ran on to the cross and dove to get her head on the ball. She met the pass at the correct moment and headed it past the goalie and into the net from seven yards out. Her first collegiate goal for the Cobbers tied the game just 1:25 after the Cardinals had taken a 1-0 lead.  

The teams would trade offensive third times for the final 20 minutes of regulation. Cobber freshman goalie Breanna Nelson came up with a couple of clutch saves in the final 15 minutes of play to keep the score deadlocked at 1-1.

St. Mary's won the game in the sixth minute of the first OT period. The ball was played down the right wing with a St. Mary's attacker and a Cobber defender reaching the ball at the same time just inside the end line. The two battled for the ball and the SMU player was able to gain possession after a 50-50 challenge. She then played the ball across the penalty area where it was met with a 1-time shot that found the far left side of the goal.

St. Mary's held a 14-4 advantage in total shots and a 9-2 edge in shots on goal in a game that featured 54 substitutions. Lauren Tschider had a team-high two total shots while Greta Nye had the other shot on goal for CC.  

Nelson stopped nine shots in the 95:51 of play.

AUGSBURG GAME RECAP: The game on Sunday was a testament to determination and Upper Midwest character. The game started with a mix of rain and snow and was played amid wind gusts up to 30 mph.

The Cobbers fell behind in the 25th minute of play on a free kick from the left wing. The Augsburg attacker took the kick from 25 yards out and was able to get the ball up and into the wind. The ball sailed over the top of Nelson and just under the crossbar on the far right side of goal.

The game picked up in the second half as the Cobbers pushed for the equalizer. Concordia had several quality chances in the final 15 minutes of play. They had a pair of corner kicks where the ball just squirted across the goal mouth area and had a pair of dead balls from inside 45 yards in the final three minutes of play.

Concordia also had a potential game-tying goal get cleared off the goal line after a bouncing ball went over the head of the Auggie goalie.

The Auggies held a 9-5 lead in total shots and a 7-3 margin in shots on goal. The Cobbers had the better on the corner kick chart. CC had five corners in the game as opposed to three for Augsburg.

Concordia had five different players take shots in the game with Grace Lawlor, Klara Beinhorn and Dalsin recording the shots on goal.

Nelson made six saves in the game and had a couple of quality diving stops to hold the Auggies at one goal.

UP NEXT: Concordia finish the spring with a pair of road games. The Cobbers will play at Gustavus on Thursday, Apr. 22 and then finish with an away game at St. Olaf on Saturday, May 1.