DECATUR, Ala.—Getting a single goal in each half by a pair of seniors, Concordia University moved into the quarterfinals of the NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championships with a 2-0 win over Spring Arbor (Mich.) on Tuesday.

 

With the win, Concordia, the No. 8 seed in the tournament, improved to 17-4-1 on the season and will face No. 1-seeded Lindsey Wilson College on Wednesday, Nov. 30. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. (CST) at the Jack Allen Recreation Complex in Decatur, Ala. Meanwhile, No. 9-seeded Spring Arbor ends its season with a 19-3-1 record after capturing the Mid-Central College Conference championship.

 

“We have struggled before in this first game at the final site and I thought we had good energy and created good chances in the first half while carrying out the game plan,” Landy said. “I thought we adapted well to the conditions of the field and at times pieced some good combinations together.”

 

Concordia made the most of an early break with a penalty kick in the 17th minute of play. Moments after making a goalkeeper change due to injury, a Spring Arbor defender was charged with a handball in their own box to give the Cavaliers the early strike with senior All-American Brittany Orr stepping up and delivering for the 1-0 lead.

 

The Cavs would go on to outshoot the Cougars 9-to-5 in the first half and generated several chances to pad their lead, but had to settle for the one-goal lead at the break. With another nine shots in the second half, Concordia found the net again in the 74th minute as a Hannah Scott shot from close range ricocheted back and found the feet of an awaiting senior in Tahlia O’Loughlin. Following the play from the left side, O’Loughlin cleaned up the mess with a chip from five yards.

 

Playing the full 90 minutes, Tori Talbutt stopped four shots to collect her 10th shutout of the season for the Cavs. Of the team’s 17 wins, 12 have come via shutout performances by the CU defense. Spring Arbor’s Brooklyn Morgan, who played all but nine minutes while being worked on while by the SAU athletic training staff stopped seven CU attacks while teammate Kelly Reszka, who registered one save, took the loss by allowing the first Cavalier goal of the evening.

 

Concordia will now turn its attention to, Lindsey Wilson College, a former two-time NAIA national champion with its most recent crown coming in 2006. The Raiders advanced to the quarterfinals with a 2-0 win over No. 16 Oklahoma City University on Monday. Along with the two titles, the Blue Raiders were also the national runner-up twice and made it to the semifinals on two other occasions.

 

The matchup pairs two of the all-time great programs in NAIA soccer as LWC holds a 23-11-2 record in 13 appearances at the national championships while CU is 19-10-2 in 11 appearances. LWC’s win total is tied for the third most among all NAIA schools while Concordia holds the fifth most wins at the national events.

“I think it’s going to be a great game,” Landy said. “LWC is very well coached and is solid back to front. We will need to come out with energy and be proactive in our approach.”

Concordia and Lindsey Wilson have faced each other on four occasions with three matchups occurring at the national tournament. The Blue Raiders stopped CU in the NAIA semifinals in 2003 and in the title match the following year. Concordia has come back to win the previous two matchups in the series, including a 3-0 win in the semis in 2008 and a 1-0 win in Kentucky in an early season road trip in 2010. All four matchups have ended in a shutout-win.