Game Scoreboard:

Team	1	2	Final
	0	0	0
	0	0	2

Game Rewind:
Game Stats: Final Stats vs. UW-Eau Claire

Game Pictures: Cobber W. Soccer Photo Gallery

Game Recap:

UW-EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (11/11/06)-- Soccer is a game of feet - both literally and figuratively. Concordia found that out in their first round NCAA Tournament game against UW-Eau Claire in River Falls, Wis. on Saturday as the Blugolds captured a 2-0 victory.

Concordia finishes its season with a 12-6-3 record, while Eau Claire will advance to play Augustana in the second round.

The Cobbers had a pair of chances that fell just a few feet short while Eau Claire scored on a pair of goals that were determined by less than three feet. Concordia outshot the Blugolds 12-11 in total shots and 8-5 in shots on goal for the game but were never able to come up with a game-deciding first goal.

The two teams played passively at the start of the match. That gave way as Concordia started to control the flow of play and began to attack the Blugold defensive end in earnest. The best chance of the opening 45 minutes came when Cobber forward Morgan Bain broke the Eau Claire defense down on the left wing and hammered a low shot to the far right corner. Eau Claire goalie Allie Rivard made a diving save and pushed the ball five yards to her left. Seeing the play develop, Concordia freshman forward Megan Rice sprinted towards the goal to collect the rebound. Unfortunately she was two feet short as Rivard was able to scramble over and make the save on the rebound shot.

The teams went into the break deadlocked at 0-0 with the Cobber holding a 5-4 edge in total shots and a 4-0 advantage in shots on goal.

Like most NCAA Tournament games, the team that scores first has a decided advantage, especially in the second half. That scenario played out on the wrong end for the Cobbers.

In the 61st minute, the game took a swing in favor for Eau Claire. After a throw-in and a subsequent through ball that was played diagonally through the back of the Cobber defense, Blugold forward Emily Meisinger raced onto the ball and was barely able to get a touch on the ball and tapped it past charging Cobber goalie Britt Reiersgord. Meisinger's re-direction was enough force Reiersgord to lunge and take Meisinger to the ground. The referee then stepped in and awarded Reiersgord a red card for stopping a goal-scoring opportunity and gave the Blugolds a penalty kick.

Concordia goalie Ashley Liegakos then had to come in the game without any warm-up and face the penalty shot. Meisinger hit the spot kick to Liegakos' left and she was able to make a great diving stop. Unfortunately the ball rebounded towards Meisinger's right and she was able to connect on the game-winning goal just before Liegakos could get to her feet and make an attempt to stop the shot.

Having to play with only 10 players due to the red card, Concordia was able to get quality chances off of dead ball situations and counterattacks.

The best effort came off the foot of Mikenna Maroney who took a shot after a goalmouth scramble from a corner kick. Maroney's 12-yard shot was heading into the upper right corner of the net but the athletic Rivard was able to just get a hand on it before it tailed into the net.

The crushing blow for the Cobbers came at 81:15 when Anna Talbot was able to collect an errant Concordia clearing attempt just outside the penalty area and hit a shot that looped over the head of Liegakos and dropped underneath the crossbar.

Concordia tried to scramble with their lineup and play to get a goal in the final eight minutes but were denied by Rivard and the Blugold defense.

In the end, the Cobbers had to settle for their first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament and the memories of the first MIAC regular season and playoff championships in program history.