CU's Hannah Scott scored the Golden Goal in the 107th minute against C of I on Saturday.
Concordia Advances to CCC Title Game
STATS - Concordia vs. College of Idaho
PORTLAND, Ore.—One goal away from the conference finals or an early elimination from the tournament, the No. 8 Concordia women’s soccer team got a golden goal in the 107th minute from forward Hannah Scott to beat College of Idaho 2-1 on Saturday in the CCC Semifinals played at Delta Park on Saturday.
Scott saved the Cavs (14-4-1, 8-1-0 CCC) when she fielded a rebound off a defender following a shot from CU’s Jackie Hendrickson. Almost directly behind Hendrickson, Scott launched her own shot over the crowd of defenders that had blocked the previous one to just inside the right post from 12 yards away. The goal gave Scott her third of the season and her second game-winner.
Scott wasn’t even supposed to play this match after sustaining an injury late in the match against Evergreen State late in the regular season. However, with the team’s season on the line, CU Head Coach Grant Landy subbed Scott in to create a chance for the team, which she obviously did.
On the other side, the loss ended the season for The College of Idaho (7-9-1, 5-3-1 CCC) who played a gutsy match, especially in the second half when they played even with Concordia as each team recorded six shots.
The Yotes got their lone goal in the second half as well when Taylor Culver headed home a corner from Kayla Bigelow in the 58th minute. Like Scott’s game-winner, Culver’s header sailed over a group of defenders in front of the goal and just tucked in the right post from five yards out.
The score tied the match at 1-1 after Concordia had been leading since the 7th minute. Concordia nearly went up again in the 66th minute, though, when nifty passes form CU’s Erin Huisingh and Alex Blalock set up teammate Alex Thomas on the left post. Blalock was the one that sent the ball to Thomas from the right side of the box. However, Thomas couldn’t quite make solid contact on the pass and her shot sailed to the left.
Concordia then had another good chance at a game-winner in only the second minute of the first overtime period. The play started with a shot from CU’s Kaylynn Winwood that C of I goalkeeper Aimee Pierson punched out. Pierson then ran to corral the ball only to have CU’s Scott beat her to it. Pierson still tried to pick the ball up, though, and took down Scott in the box in the process. That gave CU a penalty kick, but the attempt sailed high and the match continued.
The Cavs continued to dominate possession of the ball in overtime, though, even after the missed penalty kick. Overall, Concordia recorded 10 shots between the two periods, while the Yotes got none.
Earlier in the match, Hendrickson gave the Cavs the early lead off a similar play to the Yotes’ later goal. Huisingh sent Hendrickson the ball on the play off a free kick that was played like a corner from the right. Like the Yotes’ goal, Huisingh’s cross found Hendrickson in a crowd in the box where the senior headed the pass to the right post from five yards out.
The early score sparked a flurry of Concordia offense as the team put up six more shots in the next 20 minutes. C of I’s Pierson deterred each attack, though, preserving the 1-0 score and giving her teammates’ the chance to tie it up later.
Overall, Pierson saved eight shots in the Yotes’ goal, while CU’s Tori Talbutt saved one shot in her own goal.
Statistically, Concordia recorded advantages in shots (25-to-7) and shots on goal (10-to-2). The Yotes, however, took home the advantage in corners (3-to-1), which was a big change from when the teams met in the regular season. In that match, Concordia earned 17 corners compared to only one for C of I
The overtime loss also drops the Yotes to 1-2-1 in overtime matches this year, while Concordia improves to 1-0-1.
The Cavs will now turn their attention to Northwest University who they will meet in the CCC Final on Saturday, Nov. 12. Northwest punched their ticket to the final after beating Southern Oregon 2-1 on the road earlier Saturday. Time and location for the match is still to be determined.