EUGENE, Ore. - The Concordia University women's soccer team, ranked No. 1 in the most recent NAIA coaches poll, claimed the Cascade Collegiate Conference regular season championship on Thursday evening, but it wasn't easy. Just over one year ago, the Northwest Christian University women’s soccer team upset the #1 ranked Cavs in overtime, 1-0. On Halloween, the Beacons put another scare into the Cavaliers, holding the NAIA’s top ranked team scoreless for 86 minutes before CU pulled out a 1-0 win of their own.
The NCU defense was up to the task once again as they held the Cavs to just four shots in the first half. Sophomore Kristin Fulbright, who claimed the shutout in last year’s win, but together another epic performance, making seven saves before succumbing to the relentless Concordia attack with just 4:01 to play in regulation.
CU totaled 12 shots in the second half with Fulbright picking up multiple heroic blocks between the pipes. But at the tail end of the 86th minute, Hannah Scott sent a perfect cross into the middle of the box where Alex Blalock (pictured) headed in the game-winner.
“The girls played terrific tonight,” said head coach Brett Bentley. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of the team, of our backline and of Kristin. Our girls played the number one team in the nation tooth and nail to the last minute of the game and Concordia barely got the win, because of the effort we put in on both sides of the ball.
In all, Concordia held a 16-2 advantage in shots as the Beacons doubled their number of attempts from the previous meeting in which NCU scored on their first shot of the game. Nicole Franklin and Olivia Brock combined on the shutout as Brock recorded the lone save for the Cavaliers.
Bentley said, “I was so impressed by our will to fight for every inch, every ball, and it is encouraging to see how the progress is going to help them moving forward at the end of the year. If we can maintain this standard, we are going to be very successful.”
The Cavaliers (14-1-1, 8-0 CCC) will close out the regular season against Corban on Saturday before opening play in the CCC tournament next week. NCU (4-11-1, 2-5-1) is still striving for their own spot in the CCC tournament. Sitting two points behind Oregon Tech for the sixth-and-final place, the Beacons will need a win over Warner Pacific in the regular-season finale, coupled with an Owl loss or tie against Evergreen. NCU will host the Knights at 7:00 pm on Saturday night.