Match Stats: Final Stats vs. UC-Santa Cruz

Key Point of the Game: Concordia held tight defensively, allowing only one goal in the first 57 minutes of play against regionally-ranked UC-Santa Cruz. Trailing only 1-0 at half and looking for a goal to equalize, the Cobbers gave up the "all important" second goal at 58:18 and were never able to threaten from that point on.

The Quote: "We had a great experience and this game will help us down the line. Our defense stood up to a terrific UC-Santa Cruz team and I am excited to see what we will bring to the MIAC." Cobber head coach Damian Koshnick.
The Leader: The Cobber defense, which last year allowed 69 goals in 16 games, withstood a decisive Banana Slug attack and kept the Cobbers in the game until the 59th minute.

Game Recap:

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (09/11/06)--After sightseeing and playing the role of tourist for three full days, the Cobber men's soccer team finally got around to playing a little soccer on Monday. Concordia, jolted by Bethany's last-minute scheduling mix-up, returned to action by losing 4-0 to regionally-ranked UC-Santa Cruz.

The loss is the first of the year for the Cobbers as they fall to 2-1 on the season. UCSC remains perfect and raises their overall record to 4-0.

Concordia held the high-powered Banana Slug offense in check for the better part of 58 minutes, conceding only one goal and hanging with the talented UC-Santa Cruz squad.

Trailing 1-0 at the break, the Cobbers were finally broken in the 59th minute on an unassisted goal by Davey Cochrane. The Banana Slugs then tacked on a goal at 71:42 and then the final tally at 80:03.

Despite the four-goal loss, the result was a step in the right direction for Concordia and their defense as last season they allowed 10 goals to a similarly offensive-minded Colorado College team.

For the game, the Cobbers were outshot 24-2 and were on the short end of a 5-2 margin in corner kicks.

Concordia goalie Mads Schmidt made nine saves in suffering his first defeat of the season. Banana Slug keeper Jared Wheeler collected two saves to record the shutout victory.

The Cobbers will return home and then open MIAC play when they face St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. on Wednesday, Sept. 13 at 4 p.m.