Women's Soccer advances to NACC Final with shutout over Edgewood

MEQUON, Wis. – Three goals scored in the first 17 minutes of the second half lifted the Concordia University Women's Soccer team to a 3-0 win over Edgewood College in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament semifinal round Tuesday. The Falcons were dominant from the start in the shutout win at Fitting Field.

With the win, CUW advances to face top-seeded Aurora University in the NACC Final Saturday afternoon. The Spartans advanced via a 3-2 overtime win over No. 4 Dominican University in Tuesday's other semifinal. The final is set for a 1 p.m. start at Vago Field in Aurora.

After a scoreless first half which saw them outshoot Edgewood 17-1, the Falcons continued its offensive pressure and struck 1:25 into the second half for a 1-0 lead. It was junior Jaclyn Theune (Oostburg, Wis.) who connected with her fourth goal of the season. Theune sent it in from just inside the 18-yard box and was assisted by junior Emily Ciesielczyk (Waukesha, Wis.) for the one-goal advantage.

Insurance for the Falcons came from senior Anna Hirssig and junior Carley Pfannerstill as the duo scored 1:23 apart from one another to build the Falcons lead to 3-0 with 28 minutes remaining in the match. Hirrsig (Rochester, Minn.) gained her ninth goal of the year with a header off a corner kick from sophomore Abigail Freeland (Grafton, Wis.) in the 61st minute.

Just moments later it was Pfannerstill (Grafton, Wis.) who took a pass from sophomore Halie Schieffer (Belgium, Wis.) and beat the keeper for her 15th goal of the year. Pfannerstill's goal also moved her career points total to 99 as she attempts to become the fourth Falcon during the NACC era to surpass 100 points.

The three goals were more than enough for the Falcons defense and sophomore keeper Ariana Worthing (Saginaw, Mich.). Worthing finished the match with two saves and recorded her second straight shutout, running her scoreless streak to 233:16.

The story of the match was all about the Falcons dominance of possession as CUW finished with a 25-3 edge in shots. The Falcons put 13 of those on goal as Edgewood starting keeper Tori Fortney finished with nine saves. She was relieved by Maddie Schroeder in the 69th minute.

The Falcons now advance to the NACC Tournament for the second time dating back to the start of the conference in 2006. It was the 2006 season when CUW played in the NACC Final, falling to Aurora 4-1. The Spartans have won seven of the past eight conference tournaments.