Jessica Ramback (5), Jackie Hendrickson (13) and Kaitlyn Tebbs (16) each scored a goal on Wednesday to push the Cavs into the NAIA semifinals.
Concordia Downs Cal Baptist in NAIA Quarters
DECATUR, Ala.—With a boost from an opening score with three seconds left to play in the first half, No. 6-seeded Concordia defeated No. 3-seed Cal Baptist 3-1 in a muddy quarterfinal match of the NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championships on Tuesday.
With the win, Concordia improved to 21-2-0 on the season and will advance to the NAIA ‘Final Four’ to be played on Friday with a 4 p.m. (PST) start. The Cavaliers will face No. 2 seeded Lee (Tenn.).
The quarterfinal game represented a rematch for the Cavaliers as Cal Baptist defeated CU 3-0 in mid-September when the Lancers were ranked No. 1 in the NAIA poll and the Cavaliers holding the second spot. The win allowed the Cavs to avenge both of its losses this season as Concordia defeated College of Idaho 1-0 in the Cascade Collegiate Conference championships after falling to the Yotes earlier in the year.
“These are really challenging conditions as we had to be smart about where and how we kicked the ball, but I thought we made the adjustments well,” CU head coach Grant Landy said. “But regardless of the conditions, I thought we had more energy today. It was a motivated group. This game wasn’t going to be a technical match. It was going to be a battle of wills and I think we wanted it more.”
With sloppy field conditions due to massive rain over the past two days, Concordia nearly entered the intermission scoreless for the second straight day but a relentless attack by forwards Alex Thomas and Jessica Ramback in the final moments gave the Cavs a lead at the break.
Inside of 10 seconds to play in the half, the Cavs pushed the ball down to the end line where Thomas was able to maneuver around the standing water to loft a ball across the face of the goal to Ramback where the senior used a touch from five yards out with three seconds remaining in the period to give the Cavs the lead.
“Alex has had a great tournament and came up big by getting the ball out in front of the net,” Landy said. “By finishing that shot and playing to the final whistle, that goal changed the complexion of the game.”
Kaitlyn Tebbs doubled the Cavalier advantage with a point-blank finish in the 58th minute. After a cross from Lauryn Helmers, Thomas pushed the ball forward through the muck where it stopped just shy of the endline. With the Lancer keeper out of position, Tebbs tapped the ball onward for her second goal in as many games.
Seven minutes later, The Cavaliers went up 3-0 with a Jackie Hendrickson blast from 25 yards out which arced just inside the upper corner.
The Lancers avoided the shutout when Jacquelyn Witz found the net in the 88th minute after an assist from Amanda Lammers.
Overall, Cal Baptist outshot the Cavs 12 to 9 with both teams taking five attempts in the second half. Concordia, however, generated six corner kicks compared to just one for the Lancers.
Georgie Christensen stopped five shots to pick up the win while Cal Baptist keeper Emily Evanson collected three saves in the losing effort.
The Cavaliers have reached the NAIA semifinals for the fifth time in seven years. Concordia made it to the championship match in 2004 and 2008.