Blazers Upset MIAC Champ Cobbers 2-1

10/27/2007

For the second straight season the College of Saint Benedict women’s soccer team upset MIAC Champion Concordia-Moorhead College on the last day of the regular season. The Blazers handed the Cobbers their first MIAC defeat of the season by a score of 2-1 on Saturday in Moorhead, Minn.  It’s the second season in a row the Blazers have pulled off the momentous upset, except this year the Blazers will be playing in the playoffs right along side the Cobbers. The Blazers finished out the regular season on a strong note, after a difficult loss to Augsburg College on Wednesday Oct.  24 which cost them a chance at a MIAC championship crown. The Blazers finished the season with 18 points in the MIAC standings – one point behind MIAC champion Concordia.

The Blazers will get a second crack at the Augies in round one of the MIAC playoffs. The Blazers will host Augsburg College in a first-round MIAC Semifinal playoff game on Tuesday Oct. 30. Game time is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $7 for adults and $3 dollars for students. The first 200 SJU/CSB students with a valid ID get in free.

The Blazers trailed Concordia 1-0 heading into the second half. At 63:19 junior Erin Flynn (Woodbury, Minn. /Stillwater Area) knotted the game at one-goal apiece when she drove a free-kick past the Cobber’s goalkeeper. It was Flynn’s team leading fifth goal of the season. The game remained in a deadlock until Blazers’ junior Leah Schleppegrell (Hibbing, Minn. /Hibbing) broke out of the pack on a fast break and scored the go ahead goal with eight minutes remaining in the contest.  Schleppegrell’s second goal of the season also proved to be the game winner for the Blazers. 

Sophomore goalkeeper Shannon Strohm (Burnsville, Minn. /Apple Valley) added to her record setting season for the Blazer with another solid performance in the net. Strohm faced 12 shots from the Cobbers attack – making six saves while allowing only the one goal. Strohm finishes the regular season with a 12-4 record overall including eight shutouts.

The team’s attention now becomes focused on Tuesday’s MIAC Semifinal game against Augsburg, a team the Blazers haven’t beat since 2003. With last Wednesday’s loss fresh in their minds, the Blazers are more than ready for a second crack at the Augies – expecting a different set of results.

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Robert Gerads, CSB Media Relations Student Assistant 

Athletic Department
College of Saint Benedict
37 South College Avenue
St. Joseph, MN 56374
320-363-5301
Fax 320-363-6098