Different Day, Same Story Line In Road Victory
AU CLAIRE, Wis. (10/09/11)-- For the second straight day Concordia received goals from Sarah Rounds and Gina Weiss and beat a regionally ranked opponent. On Sunday, the Cobbers broke open a 0-0 game in the second half against UW-Eau Claire with a goal by Rounds at 62:53. Weiss then added the insurance goal at 80:21 to give CC a 2-0 victory in Eau Claire, Wis. The victory pushes CC's win streak to three games.
Concordia is now 7-1-3 on the season and 3-0-1 in non-conference games. The Blugolds had their five-game winning streak come to an end and fall to 9-4-1.
The game against UW-Eau Claire came 24 hours after the Cobbers scored a pair of goals in the first half and hung on to beat Macalester 2-1 in Moorhead on Saturday. The Rounds/Weiss combination struck for goals in the first 26 minutes of the opening period to put CC up 2-0. Rounds scored just 4:35 into the game on a goal that gave Concordia the momentum for the entire 90 minutes. She then helped set up Weiss in the 26th minute and CC was able to enjoy a two-goal lead for almost the entire 90 minutes. Senior midfielder Kelsey Swagger earned the assist on both goals while freshman Laura Prosinski added the second assist on Rounds' opening goal of the game.
Concordia was able to withstand a late offensive push by the Scots to come away with the one-goal win. The loss was the first in conference play for the Scots this season and CC has now won six straight against Macalester.
The game in Eau Claire on Sunday was determined in the middle of the field. In the first half, Concordia was unable to hold on to the ball and watched as the Blugolds consistently attacked the CC net. Eau Claire came away with an 8-0 edge in shots in the first half. The Cobbers were unable to win 50-50 balls in the middle of the field and when they did they turned the ball over in the first or second pass.
The game changed in the second half when Concordia started to link up between their defense and attackers. The Cobbers had to withstand a golden opportunity for the Blugolds in the 53rd minute when Brittany Burant hammered a ball off the crossbar from the top of the penalty area. The ball rebounded in front of the CC goal and the Cobber defense was finally able to knock the ball to safety after a goalmouth scramble.
Concordia finally broke on top 10 minutes later when Rounds was played in behind the Eau Claire defense on a ball delivered from freshman defender Libby Fransdal. Rounds beat the Blugold keeper to the ball and then knocked it by the oncoming goalie and into the goal. For Rounds it was her MIAC-leading 10th goal of the year. She has now scored in four consecutive games and five of the last six contests.
The second Cobber goal was very similar to the first. With Eau Claire pushing forward to get the equalizer, CC goalie Ali Nelson came off her line to snag a crossing attempt. She then kicked the ball to midfield where the ball was deflected backward by a UWEC defender. Weiss ran behind the last Blugold back, collected the ball and calmly slotted it past the goalie. Her goal at 80:21 sealed the key regional victory for CC.
Concordia was outshot 11-4 in total shots for the game but held a 4-3 edge in the second half. The Blugolds had a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal for the 90 minutes.
Nelson stopped all six shots she faced in goal for Concordia to earn her sixth shutout of the season. UWEC goalie Nina Behrenbrinker had one save on the day.
Concordia will return to conference play on Wednesday, Oct. 12 when they play at St. Kate's at 4 p.m. The Cobbers will then host Bethel on Saturday at 3 p.m. as part of the annual Homecoming festivities.
