ST. PAUL, Minn. - The No. 8 Concordia University women's soccer team will travel to Winona to take on the No. 1 Warriors in the NSIC/U.S. Bank Soccer Tournament. The match-up is slated for a 6 p.m. start on Wednesday, November 4. Head Coach Joe "the hair" Alianiello leads the Golden Bears to their 8th NSIC tournament appearance in 9 years. CU carries an 8-9-3, 5-6-2 NSIC record into the conference tournament. The Warriors finished 15-4-0, 12-1-0 NSIC. COMPLETE RELEASE LIVE STATS
The Golden Bears are 5-4-2 on the road this season with one of their losses coming against the Warriors in Winona. CU heads into familiar territory as they have competed in 8 NSIC tournaments in the past 9 years. The recent series between the Golden Bears and Warriors has been one of the best in the league, with six of the last seven games being one-goal games. The sturdy CU defense has allowed WSU a goal or less in six of the last seven meetings, as well.
The Golden Bears will look for some leadership from senior Katie Johnson (M/F, Anoka, Minn.), returning to the field after missing most of the past few weeks due to injury. Johnson is the second leading goal-scorer for the Golden Bears with 7 goals, 5 assists for 19 points on the season. The senior has played in two NSIC tournaments in her career, her first appearance in 2006 when the Golden Bears won the third-place game over Wayne State.
In 2006, the Golden Bears advanced to the semi-finals of the NSIC tournament when they defeated MSU Moorhead. They dropped the semi-final game to Mary and eventually won the third place game 1-0 over Wayne State.
The Golden Bears will look for revenge on the Warriors from their last meeting on Oct. 18. CU fell to the Warriors by a score of 1-3. Kim Sauberlich (Fr., D, Appleton, Wis.) scored the lone goal for CU with a penalty kick at 17:13 of the first half. Her goal tied the game at 1-1, the Warriors went on to score two late goals and walked away with the victory.
Leading goal-scorer Arielle Stimson (Fr., F, Lakeville, Minn.) is closing in on the CU women's soccer record book. Stimson has recorded 10 goals and 4 assists for 24 points on the season. The freshman is tied for first with Rachel Vitense and Erin Johnson with 10 goals in a single season. Stimson currently ranks third on the single season scoring chart with her 24 points on the season.
Golden Bear soccer action will kick-off under the lights at 6 p.m. from Verizon Wireless Stadium in Winona, Minn.
