Bulldogs post ninth shutout in scoreless draw at Briar Cliff

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – A fourth-consecutive double overtime contest for the Concordia University women’s soccer team resulted in a scoreless draw with host Briar Cliff in a game played in Sioux City, Iowa, on Saturday. The Bulldogs extended their school record shutout total to nine on an afternoon that featured precious few dramatic moments around the goal.

Second-year head coach Greg Henson’s squad picked up a point in the league standings and now sits at 10-2-4 overall and 4-0-4 in conference play. The draw kept Concordia in second place (16 points) and Briar Cliff in third (15 points).

“It was a dead heat between two teams near the top of the conference,” Henson said. “It was two sound defensive teams going at it. Both struggled to create chances offensively. Neither team really challenged each other’s keepers.”

The Chargers finished with a slight edge in shots, 6-5. The 20 minutes of overtime saw just one combined shot as both teams aimed to secure at least a single point towards the GPAC standings.

Henson commended the work of his backline that includes the likes of senior center backs Rachel Mussell and Marcie Sindt as well as outside back Katrina Muther. They helped keep goalkeeper Chrissy Lind (six saves) clean. Lind pushed her own school record shutout total to seven on the year.

“I’m very happy with the effort of our team,” Henson said. “Defensively we really played strong. That aspect is a real positive for us right now. We have to figure out ways to score to win these close battles. We’re in a tough stretch of conference games.”

Concordia leading goal scorer Jessica Skerston (14 goals this season) was limited to two shots (one on goal) by a Charger defense that entered the weekend leading the GPAC in fewest goals allowed per game (0.5). Meanwhile, the Bulldogs did not even allow top Briar Cliff goal scorer Brooke Romer to get off a shot.

Concordia has now played a total of 12 overtime periods over six overtime games. It owns a record of 2-0-4 in those contests. On Wednesday the Bulldogs defeated Midland, 2-1, in double overtime.

In 10 games away from Bulldog Stadium, Concordia has lost only once and sports a 6-1-3 road record. The Bulldogs are unbeaten over their last eight games (4-0-4).

Henson’s squad will battle a ranked opponent for the first time this season when it hosts No. 17 Hastings (12-2-1, 7-0 GPAC pending Saturday night’s game) at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. The Broncos have won 12-straight games and are unbeaten since dropping their first two contests of the season. Hastings won both meetings with Concordia in 2013.