Mequon -
The Aurora University Spartans women's soccer team came
into Mequon Saturday as an odds on favorite to win their four
consecutive Northern Athletics Conference title after compiling a
35-1 regular season mark against conference foes in the previous
three.
Early on, Concordia came out with plenty of energy and
excitement, disrupting the Spartans offensive flow. Then just 12:37
into the game, Emily Waldorf took a shot that was blocked by
goalkeeper Liz Wong, who then fell down. As Wong was down, Waldorf
came up for the rebound but tripped over the 'keepers body. With
both players incapacitated, the ball bounced right into the back of
the net, giving Concordia the early advantage.
Aurora came right back however, and got off two quality shot
attempts before halftime. CUW goalkeeper Mary Ryan denied the first
shot by deflecting it over the crossbar, before she came out and
kick-saved the other. Despite outshooting the Falcons 10-4 in the
opening 45 minutes, the Spartans trailed 1-0 at the break.
In the second half, the Spartans came out again with something
to prove. Controlling the flow of the game, Aurora registered shot
after shot, but a strong effort by Ryan and the defense of Rachel
Kleba, Gabrielle Rabenhorst, Alyssa Ciesielczyk, Kelly Bolli and
others kept them off the board.
Finally in the 72nd minute, Aurora was able to find the net when
Kaitlyn Crohan beat Ryan one-on-one. Instead of being deflated, the
Falcons used that goal as motivation and began to build some
sustained offensive sequences. Following a couple of corner kicks
and crosses that were disrupted, Rabenhorst swung a ball to the
east side of the field, connecting with Becky Ott who pounded it
into the back of the goal with just 5:07 remaining. From there,
the falcons held on.
Not only is it just the second ever Northern Athletics
Conference regular season loss for the Spartans, but it's the first
time in over four years that their name will not appear first in
the conference standings. The Falcons improve to 4-3-1 overall,
and find themselves 2-0-1 in league play. They will look to build
off this monumental victory on Tuesday when MSOE comes to town for
a 4pm kickoff.
- Matt Menzl
