Cavalier goalie Georgie Christensen came up with four saves in the 1-1 tie against No. 13 Westmont on Monday.
Concordia, Westmont Settle for Tie in Clash of Top-15 Teams
BEAVERTON, Ore.— In an early season match featuring a pair of top-15 teams, No. 13 Westmont (Calif.) held on for a 1-1 against No. 5 Concordia (Ore.) in NAIA non-conference women's soccer action held at Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation Center on Monday, Aug. 25.
Concordia (1-0-1) out-shot Westmont (0-0-1) 16 to 7, but the Cavaliers couldn't find the golden goal as Warrior goalkeepers Roxanne Love, who left the game in the second period due to injury, and Natalie Johnston combined for nine saves.
“I credit Westmont for doing what they needed to do,” Concordia head coach Grant Landy said. “I thought we created a lot of dangerous opportunities but we still weren’t very good in the attacking third of the field.”
The Cavs received the lone goal in the 56th minute of play after Warrior defender inadvertently tapped the ball into the Westmont net. The own goal came immediately after a brilliant long-range drive into the middle of the box by Jackie Pronovost which was headed by Justine Pronovost and nearly past the Warrior keeper.
Westmont responded nine minutes later with an Amy Lawson crack from the 18 yards out that grazed the bottom half of the crossbar and found the back of the net. Lawson’s strike was setup after a cross into the middle of the pitch by Chelsey Gonzales.
Neither team generated a shot in the first overtime period. Concordia controlled the ball for much of the second period. The Cavs created three shots on goal that were snuffed by Johnston. Georgie Christensen tallied four saves while playing all 110 minutes for Concordia.
After both teams took four corner kick opportunities in the first period, Concordia limited the Warriors to one corner in the final three periods while taking three corners of their own to outpace their opponents 7-to-5 for the match.
“For our program, we need to be tested,” Landy said. “The team is certainly disappointed as they feel they played well enough to win, but I liked a lot of what we did out there against a team that is in the hunt every year.”
Concordia will return to action in Olympia, Wash., for a pair of contests at the Arno Zoske Soccer Tournament hosted by Evergreen State College on Aug. 30-31. The Cavs will face No. 6-ranked Carroll College on Saturday at 10 a.m. before taking on Rocky Mountain College on Sunday.