Concordia Shuts Out Eagles to Claim CCC Championship

11/16/2013 11:33:00 AM

Concordia 3, Northwest 0 Stats Comparison CU NU Goals 3 0 Shots 16 7 Shots on Goal 8 2 Corner Kicks 6 3 Saves 2 5 Fouls 12 13 CU Leaders NU Blalock Madison Scott 1 Goals 0 N/A Eckler Kimsey Scott 2 Shots 1 7 players Scott 2 SOG 1 Johnson Taylor Ames Huisingh 1 Assists 0 N/A Brock 2 Saves 4 Hughes

PORTLAND, Ore.—Behind three first-half goals, the No. 1-ranked Concordia women's soccer team defeated Northwest University 3-0 to capture the 2013 Cascade Colligate Conference Championship presented by U.S. Bank, to earn its 13th straight trip to the NAIA Women's Soccer National Championships.

With the win, Concordia improved to 17-1-1 on the season and will await the NAIA National Tournament bracket which is set to be released Monday morning. The Cavaliers will play in one of 16 Opening Round matches that will take place on Nov. 23. Northwest, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, concludes its season with a 10-8-2 record.

"Going undefeated in any conference is a very hard thing to do and proving it again in a tournament just gets even more difficult," CU head coach Grant Landy said. "I want the team to enjoy it as they put in a lot of work and we are just excited for the opportunity to keep playing at the national tournament. It was one of our goals set way back in August and they have earned the right to host that first round next week."

With two goals in the first six minutes of play, the Cavalier offense did its part early while its defense held its end later in the match to secure the shutout.
McKayla Madison (Bend, Ore./Mountain View H.S.) started the attack in the 5th minute with a header following a corner kick delivered by teammate Erin Huisingh (Pasco, Wash./Chiawana H.S.). Ashley Ames (Liberty Lake, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) got the initial touch on the corner which Madison, nearing the end line, placed over NU keeper Patty Hughes.

Just 43 seconds later, the Cavs struck again as senior Hannah Scott (Milwaukie, Ore./Milwaukie H.S.) drilled a shot from 23 yards out which doubled the CU advantage. After an interception steps away from the 18-yard box, Scott unleashed a laser shot which snuck inside the far post.

"Three or four players made that first goal happen. It took a team effort to earn the corner kick in the first place and even more to then execute the shot," Landy said. "The second goal was just an unbelievable shot from Hannah. She is getting very comfortable hitting from that distance which only gives us another threat."

Alex Blalock (Flagstaff, Ariz./Coconino H.S.), another senior, gave CU its final tally in the 31st minute by stepping in front of an errant pass by the Northwest defense only to find herself one-on-one with Hughes. From 10 yards out, Blalock calmly delivered a crawling shot to her left which rolled through to the net for her eighth score of the year.

With the three-goal lead, the NAIA's top-ranked defense lived up to the billing by limiting the Eagles to just seven total shots en route to posting its 14th shutout of the year. The Eagles managed just three attempts over the final 45 minutes while CU extended its streak to over 700 minutes of game time without allowing a goal.

Starting in goal for Concordia, Olivia Brock (Olympia, Wash./Olympia H.S.) picked up the win while registering two saves on the evening.

"Our starters have been doing a good job through the season, but it's what occurs when we go to the bench as to what elevates this team," Landy said. "Our reserves continually put in solid minutes and have shown the ability to create even more distance on teams by putting even more points on the board."