St. Thomas Sneaks Past Concordia
Midfielder Miles Stockman-Willis’ goal in the 84th minute led the St. Thomas men’s soccer team past Concordia-Moorhead 2-1 Wednesday afternoon at home.
Despite controlling possession and dominating shots on goal, the Tommies (6-1-2 overall, 1-0-1 MIAC) didn’t dominate on the scoreboard. Though heavily favored going into the game, St. Thomas struggled to get the upper hand on Concordia.
The Tommies tested the Cobbers’ (1-6-1 overall, 0-2 MIAC) defense early and often throughout the first half. Stockman-Willis seemed like he would open the scoring early when he flew down the left wing, beat a defender on the edge of the box, and found himself one-on-one with the Cobber goalkeeper. From nearly 15 yards out, Stockman-Willis unleashed a curling shot toward the far post that was deflected by a diving Concordia defender just before crossing the goal line.
This would be the norm for St. Thomas attackers for the rest of the afternoon.
“It’s very frustrating. The key I guess is to … keep your head level and eventually the goal will come,” forward Alex Bernhardt said.
The Tommies’ best chance of the first half came only a minute before halftime when forward Matt Bouche broke through the Cobber defense and found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Despite being almost certain to score, Bouche sent a shot just outside the right post and out of play.
In the first half, the Tommies outshot the Cobbers 7-2 and held a 10-0 advantage on corner kicks.
“It’s a good sign that we have that many corners,” defender Kit Weaver said. “A lot of times we know we’re dominating, and it does get a little frustrating.”
St. Thomas’ pressure finally paid off in the 49th minute when forward Nick Rapisarda drove down the left wing and across the goal line toward the Concordia net. Six yards away from the net, Rapisarda fired a shot on the goal that was partially blocked by the goalkeeper, but the ball kept dribbling toward the goal. A Cobber defender cleared the ball, but remained inside the goal box. Rapisarda controlled the loose ball and fired a shot on net that was stopped by a Cobber defender just after crossing the goal line.
Despite protests from Concordia players and coaches, referees decided the ball had crossed the line, putting St. Thomas up 1-0.
However, the St. Thomas lead only lasted four minutes before a miscommunication between the St. Thomas defenders and goalkeeper Mitchell Wolff allowed a Concordia forward to poke a ball past Wolff and into the open net, tying the game 1-1.
Twenty minutes before the end of the game, Concordia looked as if it might take a second-half lead when St. Thomas midfielder Amos Nash took down a Concordia forward inside the St. Thomas box. The Concordia bench argued that a penalty should have been given on the play, but the referee let play continue without calling a foul.
With six minutes remaining, the Tommies got their own chance at a penalty kick when Bouche brought down in the box. This time the foul was called. In the 84th minute, Stockman-Willis stepped up to the penalty spot and slotted the ball into the net. The Tommies held on for the 2-1 win.
“When things aren’t going our way and there’s 10 minutes left, we just need to realize that’s plenty of time,” Weaver said. “We’re trying to work on staying calm, staying cool and just realizing that a goal is going to come.”
The Tommies’ next game is set for at 1 p.m. Saturday at home against St. Mary’s.
Tommie women suffer first MIAC loss
Forward Jenna Savino scored the lone goal for the Tommies as the women’s soccer team fell to Concordia-Moorhead 2-1 Wednesday at home.
After a win last week over a strong squad from Macalester, the Tommie women looked to continue their climb through the MIAC standings against Concordia, which was ranked No. 1 in the MIAC preseason rankings.
The Tommies (4-4 overall, 1-1 MIAC) appeared outmatched early as the Cobbers dominated possession for a majority of the first half. Despite being hemmed into their own end and not being able to possess the ball in the Cobbers’ (6-2 overall, 3-0 MIAC) half of the field, the Tommies were able to weather the storm early without allowing a serious scoring chance.
St. Thomas finally punched back with a scoring chance of their own when forward Nicole Sheehan found open space on the right wing and sent a curling cross toward forward Katy Scherer. However, Sheehan sent it just inches ahead of where Scherer was running, and the ball skipped past Scherer and into the arms of the Cobber goalkeeper.
Only minutes later, a Tommie corner kick found forward Morgan McConachie, who was unmarked, on the back post of the Cobber net. McConachie sent a rocket header on frame from less than 10 yards out, but the Cobber goalkeeper made a reaction save on the shot and kept the ball out of danger.
The remainder of the first half was a defensive battle for both teams as St. Thomas goalkeeper Jenny Grahek tallied seven first-half saves, while the Tommies only had two strong scoring chances in the first half.
“Today was a big disappointment,” coach Sheila McGill said of her team’s performance. “We really didn’t put things together like we needed to … we didn’t connect our passes and play with the speed we normally do.”
The Cobbers broke the deadlock only three minutes after halftime when a series of turnovers from the Tommies gave the Cobbers repeated attempts on goal. While scrambling to regain control of the ball, the disorganized Tommie back line lost track of a Cobber forward who slotted a shot just inside the right post, giving the Cobbers a 1-0 lead.
St. Thomas had a chance to equalize six minutes later when forward Hannah Pawlik sent an arching cross into the Concordia box. Forward Camille Horne stood waiting in the box for the ball to reach her, without a Cobber defender close. Despite being unmarked on the play, Horne wasn’t able to control the ball with her head, ending the St. Thomas attack.
“Today was a day we could’ve—should’ve—been better at what we do,” McGill said.
“We had a lot of scoring opportunities. We didn’t necessarily put them in the back of the net,” forward Taylor Sabrowski said.
Disaster struck for the Tommies in the 67th minute when a nonchalant pass between two St. Thomas defenders was mishandled and turned over inside the St. Thomas box. A Cobber attacker wrapped up the loose ball and sent it into the upper right corner of the net, giving them a 2-0 lead.
Despite a goal off a free kick from forward Jenna Savino with 17 minutes remaining, the Tommies couldn’t complete the comeback and fell to the Cobbers 2-1.
“Moving forward, hopefully we’ll have a better result next game,” Sabrowski said. “This was a tough loss for us.”
The St. Thomas women are back in action at 1 p.m. Saturday at St. Mary’s.
Jacob Sevening can be reached at seve8586@stthomas.edu.