EUGENE, Ore. – Freshman Goalkeeper Kristen Fulbright had nine saves, including a penalty kick block and Jacque Bundtrock scored in overtime as the Northwest Christian University women’s soccer team upset the NAIA’s top-ranked Concordia University Cavaliers on Saturday night, 1-0. It was the first loss of the season for CU and the first victory ever in the series for NCU.
Concordia peppered Fulbright all night, forcing her into nine saves on 23 total shots. The net-minder was also called into action to close out numerous crosses and a daunting 16 Cavalier corner kicks to preserve the victory.
Northwest Christian (7-7-2, 5-3 CCC) managed to take just one shot all evening, but it would be the only shot that mattered. Just 36 seconds into the second overtime, Mishayla Bertelsen sent a perfectly placed 30-yard free kick from the left side, into the corner of the goalie box, where Bundtrock was waiting.
The junior wrapped the ball just inside the right post, past the Concordia keeper for what could only be called the biggest goal in NCU women’s soccer history. The Beacons had never defeated Concordia in five meetings.
The Cavaliers (12-1-2, 6-1 CCC) were not without their chances to score early and often in the game. Fulbright had already been forced into three saves in the first eight minutes of the game. Then, in the 20th minute, a header by Hannah Kimsey hit the cross bar before being cleared by the NCU backline.
Five minutes into the second half the Cavaliers again hit the crossbar, this time off the foot of Becca Long. Then, at the 51:58 mark, a Beacon foul inside the box gave Concordia the penalty kick and the opportunity they had been searching for. Ashley Ames sent the ball low and to the right of Fulbright, but the keeper made a diving stop to block the ball and send it off without damage.
Head Coach Brett Bentley said, “The last few weeks have been really tough on our girls because we dropped two really close heartbreaking games late in both games. It was a difficult task to come back from those two games, but those games taught us the perseverance we needed to stay in a game like we had tonight. To have the heart that we had to never stop, gave us the opportunity to have that last chance we were given to score.”
Fulbright (pictured) picked up her freshman-record fourth shutout of the season as she continues to lead a fearless defensive unit that has propelled the Beacons to their first winning record in conference play in school history. “Kristen has been a stud,” said Bentley. “Not only is she making the big game-winning saves, but she’s making the routine saves look routine and easy. With your keeper you want to see consistency and she did that tonight. The PK save gave us the momentum to keep our heads in the game to go out and get the win in overtime.”
Northwest Christian currently sits in third place in the CCC with one game remaining in the regular season. The top four teams qualify for the conference playoff tournament and NCU will look to clinch their first-ever post season berth next Saturday when they travel to Salem to take on Corban University at 1:00 pm. Concordia finishes out the regular season next weekend at home, hosting Northwest University on Friday and Evergreen State on Saturday.