Inches Away From An Overtime Win
MOORHEAD, Minn. (10/15/11)—A matter of inches might have cost Concordia a shot at the MIAC regular season title as the Cobbers had a golden opportunity in overtime hit the post and bounce out of the goal on their way to a 2-2 tie with Bethel on Saturday.
The tie drops Concordia from a tie for second place in the league standings into sole possession of fourth place. The tie is also the fourth of the year for CC who are now 8-1-4 overall and 4-1-3 in the MIAC. The Cobbers are the only team in the conference with fewer than two losses on the year. Bethel snaps a two-game winless streak and moves to 7-4-2 overall and 2-3-1 in league play.
Concordia got on the board first when Gina Weiss notched the first of her two goals in the game in the 27th minute of play. Weiss was able to pounce on a service from defender Nikole Koehn to put CC up 1-0 at the 26:07. It would take the Royals less than :20 to answer the first strike. Bethel took the ensuing kick and pushed the ball into the Cobber defensive end and scored the game-tying goal at 26:26.
The game would stay tied at 1-1 all the way through the first half despite Concordia holding a 10-4 advantage in shots. The second half was more evenly played as the Cobbers fought back against a stiff wind. Concordia went ahead 2-1 midway through the second period when Weiss finished off her second goal of the game on an assist from central defender Libby Fransdal. It was Weiss' fifth goal of the game and she has now scored in three of the last four games.
Just when it appeared that Concordia would seal their sixth straight home win, Bethel was gift-wrapped a free kick just outside the penalty area. The ensuing dead ball was then played off a Cobber defender and found the foot of Sophie Christiansen who was wide open in the CC penalty area. Christiansen promptly buried the ball into the net to tie the score at 2-2 with only 3:00 left to play in regulation.
Going with the wind in the first overtime period, Concordia completely dominated play. The Cobbers had a pair of chances to win the game before Sarah Rounds was played in behind the BU defense in dying seconds of the first extra session. Rounds calmly slotted the ball towards the far side of the net. The ball beat Bethel goalie Alyssa Riggs and rolled slowly toward the far post. The ball appeared to be headed for the side netting but then angled toward the post, hit the inside of the circular post and rolled just outside the goal line and back to Riggs who was scrambling after the ball.
The Cobbers outshot the Royals 3-0 in the first 10-minute overtime frame. The second OT was more evenly played with CC holding possession and Bethel getting chances on counterattacks. Bethel's best chance came from the foot of Christinansen who got behind the Cobber defense on the left side and broke through on a breakaway. Her shot was then blocked by a combination of the recovering defender and oncoming Concordia goalie Ali Nelson.
Concordia held a 17-9 edge in shots for the game. The Cobbers also had a 8-6 edge in shots on goal. The corner kicks were even at 4-4 while the foul count was a lopsided 17-4 margin with CC being whistled for almost five times the amount of fouls.
Nelson made four saves in the game and Riggs came away with six stops.
Concordia will now host St. Olaf in a showdown of two of the top four teams in the league. The Cobbers and Oles will hook up on Tuesday, Oct, 18 at 3:30 p.m.
