Concordia's Justine Pronovost scored both goals to push the Cavaliers into the national semifinals.
Cavs Escape Overtime (Again) to Advance to NAIA Semifinals
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.–After needing two overtimes in the second round of the NAIA Championships, Concordia notched another 2-1 win, this time in the first OT against Azusa Pacific, to advance to the semifinal round of the NAIA tournament.
With the win, Concordia improved to 22-0-1 on the year while Azusa Pacific ended their season at 19-3-0. The Cavaliers advance to the semifinals and will play the winner of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and Graceland (Iowa) at 5 p.m. (EST) on Friday Dec. 5.
“I think the players did an excellent job of sticking to our game plan,” Concordia head coach Grant Landy said. “We were stepping up all over the field and getting after them physically.”
Senior midfielder Justine Pronovost got Concordia on the board first with a goal in the 38th minute. After a corner kick by Angie Turner, the ball was cleared out by the APU defense where Pronovost collected the ball and fired into the upper corner of the net for a 1-0 Cavalier lead.
The score would hold well into the second period until Azusa Pacific senior forward Bridget Brotherton tied the game at 1-1 with a goal in the 86th minute. Neither team would score again in regulation, sending the game to overtime.
“We spent a lot of energy in the first half and when you give a team like APU that many corner kicks and free kicks, something was bound to go in,” Landy said.
In the second period, both teams had multiple shots that either hit the crossbar or that were just wide of the net to prevent the extra period. The Cougars had a pair of corner in the opening minutes and saw shots sail wide on both occasions. APU would later strike the post with a shot by Delina Papa in the 70th minute.
Kaitlyn Tebbs and Caitlin Verhofstadt each had opportunities to ice the game for Concordia, but saw their shots hit the crossbar in the 69th and 75th minute, respectively.
The drama would be short lived in the overtime session as Pronovost netted her second goal of the game in the 91st minute. After winning the ball near midfield, the senior launched a 50-yard blast towards the goal where it found the corner of the net past the reach of APU goalkeeper Alysa Douglass, ending the match just 92 seconds into the overtime period.
For the match, Azusa Pacific outshot the Cavaliers 19-to-8 but saw the majority of their attempts cleared by CU goalkeeper Georgie Christensen, who recorded a season-high 10 saves in the win.
“Georgie did an excellent job throughout the match of cutting off crosses and through balls. She was a presence in the goal for us today,” Landy said.
Concordia was also outnumbered in corner kicks with just three opportunities to eight for APU. Matching the style of play of the field, the Cavs were charged with 18 total fouls to 14 for the Cougars.