Second-Period Surge Pushes Cavs into Championship Match
CAMAS, Wash.—When the rain started falling in the second period, the shots started finding the back of the net for the Concordia University women’s soccer team. Playing off-campus and out of state for a home match at Doc Harris Stadium against The College of Idaho, the Cavaliers rebounded for a 6-1 win after trailing 1-0 at intermission to advance to the Cascade Collegiate Conference championship.
With the win, Concordia, the No.4-ranked team in NAIA, moved to 16-2-0 on the season while the Yotes dropped to 9-7-3. The Cavaliers will host the winner of tonight’s semifinal match between Corban College and Oregon Tech on Oct. 27. The championship match will be contested at Central Catholic High School (Portland, Ore.) with a 2 p.m. kickoff.
In the 19th minute, the Yotes stated their case for an upset bid over the No. 1-seeded Cavaliers with a goal from Amanda Barrieau after a flurry following a two-versus-one counter attck. After collecting a shot from teammate Leah Roach which deflected off the far post, Barrieau fired from five yards out for the early 1-0 lead.
With the score unchanged for the rest of the period, the Cavalier’s first response came in the first minute of the second stanza with a Sami Andrews’ 10-yard strike into the bottom right corner of the net. With multiple touches stretching across the bulk of the field, Shea Miller and Kaitlyn Tebbs received assists on the Concordia equalizer.
In the 68th minute, Jessica Ramback provided the Cavs with the first of four goals in an eight-minute span, including three in just over two minutes. After Ramback’s 19th goal of the season, Stephanie Solarek found the net in the 73rd minute, Justine Pronovost in the 74th and Tebbs recorded a score in the 76th minute for a commanding 5-1 Concordia lead.
In the closing minutes, Concordia was credited with its sixth goal via an own goal from the Yote defense. “We haven’t been in the position of being down a goal all season long,” Concordia head coach Grant Landy said. “I honestly think its one of the best things that could have happened. The College of Idaho played like a team with their backs against the wall and it is important for us to understand that the playoffs are a different type of animal when it comes to matches. Hopefully, it was a wake-up call for them that they need to play with that commitment for 90 minutes.”
Concordia outshot the Yotes 18-6 with nine shots in each period. Concordia tallied nine corner kick opportunities while limiting the Yotes to one attempt. In a team effort, five different players scored for the Cavs while six different players recorded an assist.
Leah Flores picked up the win while playing the full match in goal for Concordia, improving her season record to 13-1-0. Sadie Hughes had four saves in the contest for the Yotes.
“I was really proud of how they played today,” Landy said. “It’s a test of character for a team to respond when they are down and they all knew what they needed to do.”
The win was the 13th straight for Concordia. The 19th-minute goal by the Yotes broke a string of 12 straight shutout performances by the Cavalier defense.