Women’s Soccer Wins and Ties in Concordia Invitational Tournament
by Jacy Johnston
Concordia Nebraska women’s soccer competed against fellow Concordia schools this weekend in Chicago in the soccer edition of the Concordia Invitational Tournament (CIT).
The women’s team traveled with the men’s soccer team to compete against Concordia University Chicago and Concordia University Wisconsin.
The first game for the Bulldogs was against the Cougars of Concordia Chicago. The Bulldogs won the game 4-0.
Junior midfielder Lauren Martin scored the first goal for the Bulldogs a mere six minutes into the game.
“My scoring play around the 7th minute..I felt was influential, because it set the tone that our team was going to come out hard from beginning to end,” Martin said. “I just happened to be the one to place the ball in the back of the net.”
Junior midfielder Maria Deeter assisted on Martin’s goal and added her own 11 minutes into play. While the Bulldogs did not score for the rest of the half, the Cougars racked up nine saves.
In the second half, sophomore forward Sami Birmingham scored off of an assist from Martin. The final goal of the game came from senior defender Leah Shohat. Shohat’s goal came off of a rebound.
The Bulldogs faced a quick turnaround with their Saturday game at 9:30 am against Concordia Wisconsin. Concordia Wisconsin is a NCAA-Division III school and put up a tough fight against the Bulldogs.
“This team challenged us as a team to get our passes off sooner, quicken our play, and make more advanced runs as forwards,” Martin said. “Wisconsin had a better defense than any team we have played yet this season.”
Concordia Nebraska’s offense was matched by the Falcons with both teams putting up a dozen shots in the 0-0 tie. The Bulldogs had eight shots on goal, but were unable to connect on any of them.
“I thought that this weekend was important for our team going forward, because while facing Wisconsin, we faced more of a challenge,” Martin said.
Concordia Nebraska returns from the trip to face Bellevue University on Wednesday in Seward at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs currently stand at 3-0-1 on the year and look to maintain momentum against the Bellevue Bruins.
