Zielke Sets Scoring Record, Women's Soccer Wins Twice; Gridiron Turnovers Hinder Cougars in Loss to Aurora
October 23, 2007 – The Concordia University Chicago football team looked to even their season record with a win on Saturday, October 20 at Aurora University. However, four turnovers and an early 21-point deficit combined to make the Cougars’ task an uphill climb. The Aurora Spartans led from the first score of the game and defeated the Cougars by a 49-19 score.
The first turnover came on Concordia’s second possession as Reed Sullivan intercepted a pass from Mike Marotta (Brookfield, IL – Riverside-Brookfield H.S.) and returned it 54 yards for the opening score. Aurora’s offense would score on their next two possessions as Spenser Adams threw touchdown passes of 13 and 61 yards, and the Spartans led 21-0 after one quarter.
Concordia found the end zone early in the second quarter, sparked by a Khyree Copeland (Jacksonville, FL – Potter’s House Academy) 54-yard run that took the ball to the seven. One play later, Marotta hit Dan Meier (Mayer, MN – Lutheran H.S.) for a 10-yard scoring pass. The extra point was blocked, and Concordia trailed by 21-6.
Alden Crawford (Gainesville, FL – Buchholz H.S.) intercepted Adams to end the next Aurora drive, but the Cougars could not move the ball and were forced to punt from deep in their end. The Spartans took advantage of the short field and scored on another pass play to go up by a 28-6 score.
The Cougars cut into the hosts’ lead with just 39 seconds left in the half. Marotta completed first-down passes to Nathan Bahr (Nashotah, WI – Lake Country Lutheran H.S.) and Maurice Tisdale (Jacksonville, FL – Potter’s House Academy) before finding Mike Burch (Gainesville, FL – Eastside H.S.) from three yards out for the score. The extra point by Anthony Francia (Westchester, IL – St. Joseph H.S.) made the halftime score 28-13 in favor of Aurora. Aurora turned to more of a possession game in the third quarter, and their tactics paid off when Ryne Reder scored the only points on a four-yard run. Reder rushed for 65 of his 153 yards in the quarter. Meanwhile, Concordia was unable to answer as the third and fourth interceptions of the game ended two of their drives.
The Spartans scored twice more in the fourth quarter, one coming on another Reder touchdown run, before Concordia added the final six points. Jason Weeks (Downers Grove, IL – North H.S.), who completed 10 of 14 passes for 51 yards, threw to Bahr from two yards out on the final play of the game.
Copeland finished with 115 yards rushing on 16 carries, giving the freshman his third 100-yard rushing game of the season. The Cougars rushed for 131 yards and passed for 151, making for a total of 282 yards of offense. Defensively, Ahmad Muhammad (Tallahassee, FL – Lawton Chiles H.S.) made 10 total tackles, and Mike Kelly (Ocala, FL – The Villages H.S.) added nine.
The Cougars (3-5, 2-3 IBFC) will travel to Lakeland College in Sheboygan, Wisconsin for a Saturday, October 27 game versus the Muskies. Kick-off is at 1 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL NIPS CONCORDIA WISCONSIN
IN SENIOR NIGHT THRILLER
Concordia Chicago’s volleyball team split a pair of Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) matches last week to finish the week at 14-11 overall and 8-3 (third place tie) in conference play.
The Cougars saw their five-match winning streak ended on October 16 in a three-game sweep by the Milwaukee School of Engineering (32-30, 30-23, 30-27). Jacquie Boatman (Aurora, IL – Waubonsie Valley H.S.) recorded 10 kills and a .381 attack percentage, but the Cougars’ overall hitting game was just .121 for the match. The team also committed nine serving errors, many of them at crucial times during the match.
The Cougars returned home to host Concordia Wisconsin on Friday, October 19 as part of the team’s Senior Night honoring Stephanie Meyer (Columbus, IN – East H.S.) and Jessica Theilen (Springfield, IL – Lutheran H.S.). The Cougars rose to the occasion by handing the Falcons just their second NAC loss of the season, and Concordia Chicago’s 30-20, 20-30, 28-30, 30-28, 15-13 win also avenged a pair of losses to the Falcons in the season-opening Concordia Invitational Tournament.
The Falcons appeared to have the upper hand in the match after turning a 27-22 deficit in game three into a comeback win and a 2-1 lead. However, the Cougars’ Jordan Scifres (Greenwood, IN – Indianapolis Lutheran H.S.) took charge of game four, recording five kills as the team clawed their way back into a tie match.
The Cougars stayed hot through the first part of game five, taking an 8-3 lead. However, the Falcons made one final run and came back to tie the game at 11-11. Concordia Chicago fended off the charge, getting key kills from Scifres and Kristen Strom (Cissna Park, IL – H.S.) before wrapping up a tense, exciting match in front of a raucous crowd in Geiseman Gym.
Scifres recorded 23 kills, just nine days after notching a career-high 26 in a match against Rockford, while adding a .345 attack percentage, 24 digs and four serving aces. Katie Kloess (Park Ridge, IL – Maine South H.S.) followed with 12 kills and a .303 attack, while the trio of Strom, Boatman and Alex Pinotti (Evergreen Park, IL – H.S.) tallied eight kills each. Setter Kari Herbst (Bartlett, IL – H.S.) tied her season-high in recording 56 assists. Concordia Chicago (14-11, 8-3 NAC) will travel to Alverno College for a Wednesday, October 24 match and then play on Friday and Saturday at the Elmhurst College Tournament.
ZIELKE SETS SCORING RECORD,
WOMEN’S SOCCER WINS TWICE
The Concordia women’s soccer team’s won both of their matches last week to improve to 4-6 in Northern Athletics Conference play (4-13 overall).
Junior forward Kari Zielke (Elmhurst, IL – Walther Lutheran H.S.) enjoyed a red-letter day while leading the Cougars to a 6-3 win over Rockford College on Tuesday, October 16. Zielke’s two goals were numbers 40 and 41 of her career, giving her the new all-time goal scoring leader’s position in the seven-year history of the Cougar women’s program and surpassing Kristin Prange’s 40, set between 2003 and 2006.
Tara Oetting (St. Catharines, Ontario – Sir Winston Churchill H.S.) gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead with her third goal of the season in the fifth minute. Zielke then netted her pair, the first on a shot from the right side in the 15th minute that was assisted by Molly Muther (Green Bay, WI – NEW Lutheran H.S.). The second came on a rebound of a shot off the crossbar in the 22nd minute, giving Concordia a 3-0 lead at the half.
Kim Gottsacker (Hainesville, IL – Grayslake H.S.) saw playing time at forward in the second half, and she scored the first of her two goals in the 47th minute for a 4-0 advantage. Rockford made matters interesting with a pair of goals to pull within 4-2, but Gottsacker’s second tally and Angie Hartmann’s (New Haven, IN – H.S.) first collegiate goal restored a safe margin before a late Rockford tally closed out the scoring.
The Cougars hosted Maranatha Baptist Bible College on Saturday, October 20 before a Senior Day crowd that was present to honor Gottsacker, Oetting and Malika Manouzi (Cicero, IL – Morton East H.S.). Manouzi and Gottsacker combined to make 10 saves in goal, but it took an extra session before the Cougars finally managed a goal to win by a 1-0 score. The goal came from freshman Amanda Ehrhardt (St. Louis, MO – Lafayette H.S.) who headed in a cross from Zielke in the 97th minute.
Concordia will host Aurora University on Wednesday, October 24 before traveling to Marian College in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin for a Saturday afternoon contest. MEN’S SOCCER STUNNED BY TWO
LATE GOALS IN HOME FINALE
The Cougar men’s soccer team lost a pair of Northern Athletics Conference matches last week, falling to 3-13-1 (2-6 NAC) on the season.
Concordia ran up across Division Street rival Dominican University on Wednesday, October 17 and lost by an 8-0 score. The Cougar defense played an excellent first half in front of freshman goalkeeper John Gehm (Frankenmuth, MI – H.S.), but two goals in the final five minutes gave the Stars a 2-0 lead and a burst of momentum. The Stars would score in the early minutes of the second half before stringing together three goals within a four-minute span to put the game away.
The Cougars hosted Maranatha Baptist Bible College on Saturday, October 20 in what would be the last home game for seniors Dan Fosheim (DePere, WI – NEW Lutheran H.S.), David Garcia (Los Angeles, CA – Canyon H.S.), Jeremy Hedrick (Davenport, IA – Central H.S.), Ben Price (Georgetown, TX – H.S.) and Matt Ziehr (Austin, TX – James Bowie H.S.). Garcia gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute when he took a back pass from Bryan Fulton (Mount Prospect, IL – Hersey H.S.) and fired a 20-yard shot that rocketed inside the left post.
The slim lead looked as if it would hold up, but Maranatha tied the score in stunning fashion with just 14.6 seconds remaining in the second half. A cross came in front of the net where Crusaders’ top scorer Andrew Solarek came in unmarked. Solarek could only get a piece of the ball, but it went to Dan Esgar on the far post who settled the ball momentarily and beat Gehm from point-blank range. The teams went into overtime, and Esgar would win the game in the 98th minute when he headed home a corner kick by Brett Hollenbeck.
Concordia will finish the regular season schedule with road matches at Wisconsin Lutheran College on Tuesday, October 23 at 7 p.m., and at Marian College on Saturday afternoon. ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Kari Zielke (Elmhurst, IL) of the Cougar women’s soccer team is honored for the week of October 15-21.
Zielke set a new scoring record for the Cougar women’s program with two goals in last week’s 6-3 win at Rockford College. The second goal was the 41st of her career, allowing her to surpass Kristin Prange’s record of 40, set between the 2003 and 2006 seasons. Later in the week, Zielke assisted on the game-winning goal in overtime as Concordia defeated Maranatha Baptist 1-0. She leads the Cougars with 10 goals and 22 points thus far this season.
Zielke, the daughter of Stephen and Karen Zielke, is a 2005 graduate of Walther Lutheran High School. She is a junior elementary education major with a specialization in math. Concordia University Chicago is a liberal arts-based university in the Lutheran tradition. Concordia equips men and women to serve and lead with integrity, creativity, competence and compassion in a diverse, interconnected and increasingly urbanized church and world. Visit us on-line at www.cuchicago.edu .
Copyright © 2007, Concordia University Chicago
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