Defense Stays Solid In Opening Weekend

DULUTH, Minn. (9/03/17)--- If the old sports adage "offense wins games but defense wins championships" is correct then Concordia will be just fine in 2017.

The Cobbers used a stifling defense to blank Alma (Mich.) in the second game of the St. Scholastica tournament and came away with a 0-0 double overtime tie in the final game of the weekend.

Concordia finishes the weekend with a 0-1-1 record after falling 2-0 to Wis.-River Falls in the season opener on Friday.

The shutout against Alma was even more impressive given the fact that the Scots hadn't been shutout since the 2015 season. Alma is coming off a season where they made it to the MIAA championship game.

Concordia held the advantage on the stat sheet but was never able to find a way past the Alma keeper.

"We were getting to the net with more consistency in the game against Alma," said head coach Kevin Roos. "Now we just need to create more quality chances and find the net."

The Cobbers outshot Alma 12-8 in total shots and 7-4 in shots on net. Karsen Granning led CC with three total shots while Kirsten Bokinskie and Rachel Nemer each had a team-best two shots on goal. Concordia also held a distinctive 9-1 edge in corner kicks.

Junior goalie Maddy Reed turned aside all four shots she faced to earn her first shutout of the year.

Concordia gave up a single goal in each half of the first game and lost 2-0 to River Falls. The Cobbers were unable to get any offense generated in the season opener and settled for only one shot in the game. Senior Kayla Dostal came away with lone shot on goal for CC.

Reed played the entire 90 minutes of the first game and made six saves.

QUOTABLE: "We played a lot better in the second game. We are a very young team so it was great gaining experience against quality teams." – Cobber head coach Kevin Roos  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Alma had gone 24 straight games without being shut out until the Cobbers dished up the bagel on Sunday. That streak covered 2,296 minutes without being held goalless.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING 2: The 0-0 double overtime tie marked the second straight season that Concordia has gone through a 110-minute game without having a goal put up on the board. Last year the Cobbers recorded 0-0 double overtime ties in the first two games of the season.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING 3: Cobber goalie Maddy Reed has now played in 20 games in the past two seasons and has six shutouts. If soccer were baseball she would have a .300 shutout average.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Carrie Anderson (Wis.-River Falls)
Ashley Becker (Gustavus)
Kayla Dostal (Concordia)
Katie Gillette (Concordia)
Marie Lesperance (UW-Whitewater)
Cali Marsaa (St. Scholastica)
Chase Miller (Gustavus)
Lexi Moyer (Alma)
Emily Odermatt (Gustavus)
Lauren Otto (UW-Whitewater)
Devon Polk (UW-Whitewater)
Makenzie Rajewski (Alma)
Karina Rosales (UW-Whitewater)
Abby Soderholm (Wis.-River Falls)
Rachel Windingstad (Wis.-River Falls)
Hannah Zeis (St. Scholastica)

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will host its home opener on Friday, Sept. 8 when they square off against Buena Vista at 2:30 p.m. CC will also host Wis.-Superior on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 2:30 p.m. as part of the annual Cobber Invite.