Not fit to be tied: Concordia remains unbeaten in women's soccer, yet is eliminated in MIAC tournament

Concordia remained unbeaten Tuesday, but the Cobbers didn't advance to the conference finals.

Carleton and Concordia played to a 1-1 tie through two overtimes at Jake Christiansen Athletic Complex in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's soccer semifinals. However, the Knights moved on to the MIAC finals, scoring a 3-1 win in the shootout.

"We wanted the playoff title along with the MIAC title so the girls are disappointed," Cobbers coach Dan Weiler said. "We talked after the game about continuing to play and I think that is a realistic option for us. We want to digest this and work through this and get ready to play again."

No. 7-ranked Concordia (16-0-2) will still likely earn an at large bid for the NCAA Division III tournament. The pairings for the 61-team field are expected to be released Monday. The Cobbers were hoping they would be able to host a game in the national tournament, but not making the MIAC finals hurt those hopes. Concordia had played in the previous five MIAC finals.

"It's very unlikely that we wouldn't play (in the national tournament)," Weiler said. "Whether or not we are at home now, it's a little bit up in the air. I think we'll bounce back from this and we'll be ready to go."

Carleton (9-5-5) forced overtime late, scoring with 2 minutes, 20 seconds to play in the second half. The Knights are the only team that has been able to solve the Cobbers this season.

Carleton also played Concordia to a 1-1 tie in the regular season.

"I think that both teams play in some ways a similar style," Carleton coach Keren Gudeman said. "It's good soccer when we play each other. It's a lot of fun to play each other. It's a lot of hard battles, but good clean soccer."

Carleton goalkeeper Kate Trenerry came up huge in the shootout, stopping three of four Concordia shooters. Trenerry also made numerous key stops in the second half to keep the Knights within striking distance.

"She was the difference. There is no doubt about it," Weiler said of Trenerry. "She kept them in the game. We were on the doorstep three or four times and she kept us out."

The Cobbers took a 1-0 lead at 65:03 when junior forward Sam Johnson headed in a corner kick off the foot of freshman Emily Jordan.

It appeared that goal would be enough, but Knights forward Niki Tomita scored from the top of the box at 87:40.

"We'd still be undefeated so to speak, but it certainly doesn't feel that way," Weiler said.

FIRST HALF: No scoring.

SECOND HALF: 1, Concordia, Johnson (Jordan) 65:03. 2, Carleton, Tomita (Swain) 87:40.

SAVES: Carleton, Trenerry 1-7-1-0-0-9. Concordia, Nelson 2-3-1-1-7.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Eric Peterson at (701) 241-5513.