Sept. 4, 2015 - In a game that featured early and late fireworks, the Concordia-Chicago Cougars (0-2) rally would fall short against the Wisconsin Stevens Point Pointers (1-1) by a score of 2-1.
On a warm but beautiful day for soccer in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, the Cougars would find themselves chasing the Pointers from very early in the match. The Pointers would apply pressure immediately after the first whistle. Following a shot going wide and a save by Maddie Kroll (Geneva, IL/H.S.), Stevens Point would break through in the fourth minute. The Pointer's Kelsey Schneider would loft a shot from outside the box over the head of Kroll to give the Pointers the 1-0 lead.
Head Coach Chris Brown noted that he thought that his team came out "sluggish", but after the first goal thought that they responded well and "showed a good fight".
Both teams would exchange shots on net for the remaining 41 minutes of the first half with the halftime shot total showing just a slight edge for the Pointers by a margin of 7-6.
The Pointers would come out on the attack in the second half but the Cougar defense would hold. It would not be till the 78th minute that the Cougars would surrender the second goal of the match. Sarah Meylor was able to split the Cougar defense and rip a shot off that would find the back of the net making the score 2-0.
Concordia would not go down without a fight in this one. In the 87th minute, the Cougars would break through. On a free kick from the left corner, Alisha Johnson (Coal City, IL/H.S.) would loft a perfectly placed ball into the box. The Pointer goalie would try to play the ball but would slip through her hands and fall at the feet of Elizabeth Sanders (St. Louis, MO/Parkway South) who would put the finishing touch on the first goal of the season.
Coach Brown talked about his team putting a good effort forward on the afternoon, citing that they were playing a good opponent from a very good conference. He also mentioned that the Cougar attack was much more creative and got much better looks then they did on Tuesday. He spoke very highly of both Johnson and Sanders on how they played on the afternoon, fitting that they both were involved in the scoring action. He also mentioned a very good match played by freshman Sydney Fuller (Elkhart, IN/Northridge) in the midfield for the Cougars.
The Cougars will have the rest of the holiday weekend off to rest up and prepare for a week that features three matches, the first of those coming on Wednesday at Beloit College, starting at 4:30.
