Oct. 21, 2015 - In a key battle between two teams jockeying for position, it would be the Aurora Spartans taking down the Concordia-Chicago Cougars by a score of 2-1 on a warm but windy afternoon in River Forest.

The battle for postseason position was in full swing this afternoon, with emotions and intensity high from the first whistle. Aurora would control the ball for the first 20 minutes of play ,having a couple of good runs nullified by offsides calls. The Cougars started to swing the momentum in their favor in the 23^rd minute when Natalie Weinhold (St. Peters, MO/Luitheran St. Charles) ripped off a couple of shots that were saved by Aurora's goalkeeper.

Aurora opened up the scoring in the 32nd minute. NACC scoring leader Nicci Bermudes added to her total on a unassisted strike from just outside the box that was just out of the reach of Ally Krajnak (Griffith, IN/H.S.). The ball settled in the back of the net just inside the left post, giving the Spartans the 1-0 lead.

As they have all season, the Cougars fought back quickly and fiercely. In the 38^th minute, the Cougar attack was on the prowl, getting the ball into the box. Elizabeth Sanders (St. Louis, MO/PArkway South) found the ball at her feet inside of the box. She tried to dribble though the Aurora defense but was fouled, resulting in a penalty kick. She would then strike the kick inside the right post, just outside of the reach of the Aurora keeper.

The second half saw the Cougars chasing the Spartans around for most of the half. Aurora came out of the half and controlled the possession.  This eventually led to the go-ahead goal in the 53^rd minute. It was Bermudes again who ran down a ball on the goal line that was thought to be going out of bounds. She controlled it and blasted a shot that deflected off Krajnak into the back of the net for the 2-1 lead.

Concordia-Chicago struggled to mount any attack in the remainder of the half. There was one last push late in the game as time wound down, but the Aurora back line stood tough, denying the Cougars any chance at the tying goal.

The Cougars (7-9-0, 4-4-0 NACC) will be back in action this coming Saturday at 10:30 a.m. when they take on Concordia University Wisconsin. This match will be the Senior Day for the Cougar women.