OMAHA, Neb. – 100-plus minutes of soccer has become the norm for the Concordia women’s team. After finding the game winner in the 109th minute at Briar Cliff four days earlier, the Bulldogs failed to crack College of Saint Mary on Wednesday (Oct. 23) afternoon in Omaha. The two sides settled for a 0-0 double overtime draw.
Ties are good for one point in the league standings. Head coach Chris Luther’s squad currently resides in seventh place in the GPAC with a conference mark of 4-3-2 (4-9-2 overall) and 14 GPAC standings points.
“Our defense has been playing huge,” Luther said. “We brought (center back) Cheyenne (Smith) back into the lineup and she had a really good game. Lindsey Carley had a couple really key saves again. She’s just a smart goalkeeper. She positions herself well and tracks the play really well. College of Saint Mary is much improved over the last year. They had a really creative attack that forced us to defend a lot. A lot of our decent chances came in the second half and overtime.”
Concordia has certainly tightened the screws defensively during conference play. Over their current run of four-straight double overtime games, the Bulldogs have allowed their opponents only three combined goals. In the latest extra session affair, Carley made five saves to secure the shutout. On the other side of the field, Flames keeper Corryne Millett also collected five saves.
College of Saint Mary wound up with a 12-7 advantage in the shot count. Both teams registered one shot in the 20 minutes of overtime action. The majority of Concordia shots came from players off the bench with Aliyah Aldama and Becky Freeman firing off two shots apiece.
While things have not come together from an attacking perspective, the team defensive effort continues to be solid. Said Luther, “(Morgan) Raska had a really good game. Mikeila Martinez played really well in the midfield. (Michaela) Twito is always going to play well. She plays a defensive mid and is just a rock in there and Grace Soenksen is really consistent at that left back position.”
Senior day is up next. The Bulldogs will honor the senior class prior to Saturday’s home game versus Jamestown (8-6, 6-2 GPAC). Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. CT in Seward. The Jimmies are in their second season as a member of the GPAC. Last year’s Concordia-Jamestown matchup in North Dakota resulted in a 1-1 tie.