Concordia is making its third NCAA Tournament appearance and will face Dubuque in the first round at Macalester.
NCAA Regional Tournament Schedule
Concordia (16-0-2) vs. Dubuque (15-5-1) 5 p.m.
Macalester (13-6-2) vs. St. Scholastica (17-3-2) 7:30
NCAA Regional Tournament Menu:
- Dubuque Women's Soccer Home Page
MOORHEAD, Minn. (11/09/09)-- Concordia earned one of the 21 at-large NCAA Division III Tournament bids and will be making its third national tournament appearance since the 2006 season it was announce on Monday by the NCAA national office. The Cobbers will play the University of Dubuque (Iowa) on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 5 p.m. in the first round of the tournament in a game played at Macalester College. Ticket prices are $6 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens. All games will feature live video.
The Cobbers enter the NCAA Tournament on the heels of their best regular season in program history. Concordia is currently 16-0-2 this year and went 10-0-1 in the MIAC and won their third MIAC regular season title in the past four seasons. The Cobbers also posted their first unbeaten record in MIAC play in program history as they won the conference title by two full games. Concordia was also 15-0-1 during the regular season and was one of only four teams in the nation to go unbeaten in the regular season. CC tied their conference semifinal game against Carleton only to lose in the penalty kick shootout.
Dubuque earned their way into the national tournament by winning the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference playoff tournament. The Spartans have a record of 15-5-1 entering the tournament and were 6-2-0 in the IIAC regular season. They will be making their first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The Spartans won their final two regular season games and then tied No.3-seeded Loras 1-1 in the IIAC semifinals. Dubuque advanced to the final by winning 7-6 in the penalty kick shootout. The Spartans then downed No.5-seeded Simpson 1-0 in the championship match.
Like the Cobbers, Dubuque is led by a strong junior class. Junior forward Sara Fassbinder who has 11 goals and nine assists for 31 points on the year. Junior midfielder Ashly Hamlinton is the only other UD player with more than 20 points on the year. Junior goalie Natalie Baker allowed 16 goals in the team's 21 games this year and finished with a goals against average of 0.77.
Concordia's 16 wins on the year ties the program record for most wins in a single season. The 2007 team went 16-4-2 and lost to Carthage in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at UW-Eau Claire. The Cobbers have never won a national tournament contest. CC is 0-2 in their two previous appearances. In addition to the 2007 first-round loss, Concordia also fell in the first round in 2006 when they lost 2-0 to UW-Eau Claire.
The Cobbers are led by junior forward Sam Johnson who has posted a career scoring year. Johnson leads the team with 21 goals and three assists for 45 points. She has scored at least one goal in the past 11 games and has four multiple-goal games during that period. She is currently 19th in the nation in goals per game. The other dominating factor for Concordia this season has been the play of their defense. CC has only allowed 10 goals this season in their 18 overall games and has posted nine shutouts on their way to the national playoffs. The Cobbers rank 20th in goals against average in the nation and freshman goalie Ali Nelson is 17th in goals against average. Nelson has conceded eight goals in 17 games and has a GAA of 0.47.
The only common opponent between the two teams this season is St. Ben's. The Blazers downed Dubuque 1-0 on Sept. 12 at Wartburg College while the Cobbers blanked CSB 3-0 in the final game of the regular season.
