Bulldogs come up just short at GPAC-leading Morningside
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Concordia women’s soccer played its first true road game of the 2013 season on Sunday evening and fell, 1-0, to a solid Morningside squad. The Mustangs (7-2-2, 3-0 GPAC) entered play riding high after consecutive wins to open conference play, including a 1-0 double overtime victory over a Hastings team that had not lost a GPAC match since 2009. With Sunday’s loss, Concordia sits at 5-4 overall and 1-1 in conference action.
“It was a situation where they were a little better than us in the first half and we had the better of play in the second half,” Bulldog head coach Greg Henson said. “On their goal we gave up a ball in the midfield. We let it get into our backfield and we weren’t able to recover. They capitalized on our mistake and weren’t able to capitalize on their mistake.”
The Bulldogs had an opportunity to equalize at about the 70-minute mark when junior forward Rachel Mussell drew a penalty kick. But her shot went off the post, preserving Morningside’s 1-0 lead.
The Mustangs’ Kelsey Niles knocked in the game’s only goal in the 13th minute, taking advantage of a wide-open opportunity. That would prove to be all Morningside would need on this night as Felicia Reimann earned the shutout with five saves over the entire 90 minutes in goal.
Concordia went toe-to-toe with the Mustangs throughout the contest. GPAC-leading Morningside edged the Bulldogs 13-12 in shots and 6-5 in shots on goal.
“The effort’s there,” Henson said. “We outplayed them in the second half. We created opportunities, we just didn’t finish. When you don’t put the ball in the back of the net you walk away with an empty feeling. Hopefully we can use that feeling as motivation for our next match.”
Mussell, who turned in her second career hat trick in Wednesday’s win over Grace University, was limited to two shots – one on goal. Freshman midfielder Jordan McCoy was most active on the attack as she fired four total shots with three of them placed on frame.
“Jordan McCoy had a big game off the bench,” Henson said. “She created a spark in the second half. The majority of our opportunities came from her.”
Junior midfielder Melissa Stine and freshman goalkeeper Chrissy Lind also provided quality minutes. Lind notched five saves, including a difficult one down the stretch that kept the Bulldogs close. Meanwhile, Stine produced some goal-scoring chances.
Sunday’s game was originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon but was moved due to a scheduling conflict at Morningside’s Elwood Olsen Stadium.
The Mustangs received votes in the latest national poll following their win over Hastings. Morningside has exceeded expectations so far after being picked fifth in the GPAC preseason poll.
The Bulldogs will play their final nonconference regular season game of 2013 when they battle College of Saint Mary (8-2) in Omaha, Neb., at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams met in a scrimmage match last season but have not played each other during the regular season since the Flames captured a 2-1 victory over Concordia on Sept. 12, 2009, in Omaha.
