Concordia's Justine Pronovost helped the Cavaliers to a wire-to-wire win with a goal in the opening minutes against Puget Sound.
Concordia Prevails in Battle of Fifth-Ranked Teams
TACOMA, Wash.— Traveling to face the fifth-ranked team in NCAA Division III, the fifth-ranked Concordia Cavaliers, representing the NAIA, upended Puget Sound 4-2 in women’s soccer action on Sunday.
With the win, Concordia improved to 4-0-1 on the season while the host Loggers dropped to 2-1-0.
Justine Pronovost opened the scoring early for Concordia with an 18-yard blast in the fifth minute of play. The two teams would combine for 14 total shots in the first period but neither could find the net the rest of period the as they walked into the half with Concordia leading 1-0.
Back on to the pitch, the Cavaliers struck twice as quickly to open the second period with Jessica Ramback turning a Caitlin Verhofstadt feed from the right side into the squad’s second score of the day with just 2 minutes, 18 seconds of clock time logged after the restart.
In the 55th minute of action, Angie Turner made it a 3-0 contest with an unassisted launch from eight-yards out.
The Loggers would bounce back with two unanswered goals beginning with Abby Goss’ shot in the 67th minute and capped by a Janece Levien header after receiving a 35-yard cross by teammate Melissa Abellanida in the 83rd minute.
In the 84th minute, Concordia’s Sami Andrews abruptly ended any comeback hopes for the Loggers with a successful header less than 40 seconds after Puget Sound’s second score to make it a 4-to-2 gap that would sustain until the final whistle.
“It was a very interesting game,” Concordia head coach Grant Landy said. “We had some sections where we played our best soccer of the season. We got good kicks out of the gate in both halves and were fortunate to create Sami’s chance after Puget Sound’s run. It was a nice statement from the team that we can absorb the pressure and get the goal back.”
For the match, Concordia outshot Puget Sound 22-14 including a 14-8 advantage in the second period. The Cavaliers also were charged with 19 fouls compared to just seven for the host Loggers. Returning to the lineup after missing action last weekend, CU keeper Georgie Christensen stopped four shots to earn the win while Kalie Wolfer and Katie Wheeler split time in the net for Puget Sound.
“Overall we were very solid. We controlled the pace against a team that typically rolls through their conference,” Landy said. “It was a solid road win for us.”
Concordia returns to action on Sept. 11 when it travels to Pacific University for a 4 p.m. match in Forest Grove, Ore.