Oct. 4, 2011 - In the rivalry between the two River Forest universities, not many athletic contests have been as closely contested or as exciting as today's women's soccer match between Concordia-Chicago and Dominican. In the end, the Stats prevailed 1-0 on their home field in a goal in the 108th minute.
While the game was scoreless until the very end, it did not lack for goal-scoring chances. Alyssa Soulis (Grayslake, IL/Grayslake North) had the two best opportunities for the Cougars in the first half, sending one shot from the left side just wide to the far post and having one shot saved by the keeper and caroming off the post.
In the second half, the Stars picked up the tempo and had the better opportunities. However, freshman Callie Hasselbring (Houston, TX/Cypress Ridge) was up to the task, making five saves - a few with traffic in front of the goal. Dominican's Ashley Meyer also missed a chance when her shot hit off the post.
The two sides headed into overtime and, just 90 seconds in, a glorious opportunity presented itself to the Cougars. A pair of one-touch passes put Soulis into the box on the left side. However, Soulis could not get enough on her shot, and the Stars' Megan Schulz made the save.
Two minutes later, an even better scoring chance was foiled. Soulis cut towards the goal from the left side and crossed the ball back into the middle. Anne Rockert (Kankakee, IL/Herscher) headed the ball high toward the right post. Schulz's dive was just in time to corral the ball before it could find the corner of the net.
With just 2:15 remaining in the second overtime, the Stars finally cashed in an opportunity. Liz Phipps angled into the box from the left side. Hasselbring came out to challenge, but the ball came loose in front of the goal where Meyer beat two Cougar defenders and slammed the ball home.
Dominican fired 27 shots to Concordia's 13 with Hasselbring making seven saves and Schulz five. The Stars also owned a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Concordia (5-5-0, 2-5-0 NAC) returns to action Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 when they host Eureka College in non-conference play.
