Box Score Sep. 24, 2013 - The Concordia-Chicago women's soccer team visited defending Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference champions and nationally-ranked Aurora University on Tuesday. The host Spartans narrowly edged the Cougars by a score of 2-0 on the strength of a goal in each half.

Concordia head coach Thomas Goines said after the match, "Our goal for the game was to see how much we have progressed as a team from previous seasons, and we accomplished that goal. The girls also showed that they can put together good play against quality opposition."

In the first half, the Cougars concentrated on playing a low pressure version of the 4-5-1 formation, a change from their usual 4-3-3. By dropping deep and defending their goal, they allowed the Spartans to maintain possession but not give them space in dangerous areas. With the compact defense played by Concordia, Aurora had to try and possess the ball in crowded areas around the goal.

There were some stellar performances in the center of the field by juniors Cassie Sarokin (Green Bay, WI/NEW Lutheran) and Annie Rockert (Kankakee, IL/Herscher). They provided the energy, organization, and physicality that kept the Spartans at bay. They also sparked several attacks on the Aurora goal. Sarokin kept the ball and harried the Spartan midfielders while Rockert played perfect through balls to unlock Cougar attacks.

In the second half, the Cougars opened up a bit and worked on possession forward. The defense was solid throughout, and Concordia went toe-to-toe with the Spartans. Proving that they can compete with the best, CUC had several spells of possession and moved the ball up the field against Aurora. Freshman Alisha Johnson (Coal City, IL/Coal City) was an integral part of that effort as she broke free behind the line on several occasions.

"We showed improvement in physicality and intensity in our defensive mindset. I am proud of how they comppeted. Both goals were quality goals created by Aurora and not mistakes that we gifted them." said Goines.

The Cougars junior goalkeeper Callie Hasselbring (Houston, TX/Cypress Ridge) made eight saves including a spectacular diving far post catch in the first half. She also made a great catch on a ball just under the crossbar in the 88^th minute.

The result sends Concordia to a record of 4-2-1 on the season. Concordia continues their season Saturday against the Milwaukee School of Engineering, the first of four consecutive home matches.