PORTLAND, Ore. – On the road, against the sixth ranked team in the country is already a tall task to overcome, and despite a second goal by
Natalie Brown, Concordia managed to stave off the Saints' comeback with a late goal to secure the 3-1 win.
After allowing goals in the 20th minute and 56th minute, the Saints found their shape in the second half and began putting pressure on one of the best defenses in the country. Their efforts paid off in the 63rd minute, when Brown connected on an unassisted goal, her second of the season. However, Concordia managed to shut down the Saints' hope at a draw with the final goal in the 86th minute to claim three points.
The Cavaliers put the pressure on the Saints in the early goings, recording five shots in the opening 20 minutes before the sixth found its way past the arms of
Ali Koehler. The Saints managed to fire shots off from
Shea McKnight,
Gloria Petri, and
Kiersten Madsen, but all were blocked, wide or saved. Koehler, despite allowing the goal was nearly perfect in the first half, stopping 17 shots and saved nine.
In the second half, Kyra Radcliffe netted her sixth goal of the season in the 56th minute to extend to 2-0. Saint Martin's, with their backs to the wall, turned the momentum on the Cavaliers in the 63rd minute when
Jessica Moskowitz's shot attempt just missed high. However, Brown was in the right spot at the right time, collecting the ball and putting in her second goal of the year. The Saints kept the pressure on CU, when Brown's attempt at equalizing was blocked in the 78th minute. Despite the improved play on the offensive end by the Saints, the Cavaliers managed to seal the match with a goal by Brenda Uribe in the 86th minute.
As a team, Saint Martin's managed nine shots in the match, with two coming from Brown and Madsen each. Five different Saints recorded one shot each, while
Jade Castaneda managed the only other shot attempt on goal, other than Brown and Madsen's. Koehler faced 28 shots in the match, saving 13 of them in the full 90 minutes.
The Saints return home for their final match of the 2018 season, hosting Western Oregon at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 27. Live stats and video will be available of the match on smusaints.com.
