MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin women's soccer team faced one of the nation's hottest programs on Saturday afternoon, battling Lake Forest in a 2-0 setback at Fitting Field.
The final score only told part of the story for the Falcons, who hung tough against a Foresters program that went 21-1-0 in 2025 and entered Saturday having not lost a regular-season match since Concordia Wisconsin defeated Lake Forest, 1-0, on Sept. 7, 2024, at Fitting Field. Lake Forest's only loss last season came in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament after opening the year with 21 consecutive victories.
Lake Forest (2-0-0) applied pressure early, but senior goalkeeper Kara Claussner (St. Charles, Ill.) was up to the challenge. Claussner turned away a shot in the second minute and added saves in the eighth and 11th minutes to keep the Foresters off the scoreboard.
The visitors finally broke through in the 14th minute on an own goal to take a 1-0 advantage.
Concordia Wisconsin continued to battle and generated its first opportunity in the 25th minute when sophomore Gabi Farraj (Huntley, Ill.) sent a shot just over the crossbar.
Claussner continued to stand tall in the opening half, adding another stop in the 38th minute to send the Falcons into halftime trailing by just one goal. She finished her 45 minutes of action with four saves.
Freshman Aubrey Johnson (Cedar Grove, Wis.) took over between the pipes in the second half and picked up right where Claussner left off. Johnson made a save in the 55th minute before the Falcons created one of their best chances of the afternoon.
Sophomore Koffy'e Chappel (Oakland, Calif.) put a shot on frame in the 58th minute, forcing Lake Forest goalkeeper Maddie Geasey into a save.
Johnson continued to withstand the Foresters' attack, making stops in the 60th and 68th minutes as CUW kept the deficit at one deep into the second half.
Lake Forest added an insurance goal in the 77th minute when Anna Diebold scored off an assist from Maggie Balas to make it 2-0.
The Falcons responded immediately. Less than 90 seconds later, freshman Eden Lake-Swenson (Waukesha, Wis.) fired a shot toward the bottom-right corner that Geasey was forced to turn away. Lake-Swenson added another attempt in the 89th minute as CUW continued attacking until the final whistle.
Johnson finished with five saves in the second half, giving the CUW goalkeeping duo nine saves on the afternoon. Claussner and Johnson helped hold a Lake Forest attack that averaged 3.91 goals per game and scored 86 times during its historic 2025 campaign to just two goals.
Lake Forest finished with a 21-4 advantage in shots and a 10-2 edge in shots on goal, but Concordia Wisconsin generated three of its four attempts after halftime and forced a pair of saves over the final 32 minutes.
The Falcons will look to build on the performance as they continue the non-conference portion of their schedule on Sunday at Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
