Soccer's offense comes alive in 2-1 road win over Jays

OMAHA, Neb. – Northern Colorado's women's soccer program finally got its offense rolling Friday night, with a big 2-1 road victory over Creighton.

After scoring just three goals in their first seven games, the Bears (2-5-1) came alive against the defending Missouri Valley Conference champions by scoring two goals in a game for the first time this season.

"That was an exceptional effort on the road against a good team," Northern Colorado coach Tim Barrera said. "I am really proud of the way the kids worked hard. It was a really good overall team effort."

Not surprisingly, junior Danielle Birdsall was a big part of the offensive outburst for the Bears. The defending Big Sky Offensive MVP had been held scoreless in the team's first seven games, but finally found the back of the net, not to mention the game-winner, late in the second half.

In the 75th minute, senior Kimmie Feidler let go a corner kick that was headed off the crossbar and back into play. Birdsall knocked the rebound past Bluejays goalkeeper Katie Jo Swanson to give the Bears a 2-1 lead they would not relinquish.

Creighton (3-4-0) managed to get out to an early lead, as Brittney Neumann scored her second goal of the season in just the 11th minute. Neumann beat Northern Colorado goalkeeper Kirstin Salminen one-on-one after receiving a through-ball from Lauren Cingoranelli.

For the second match in a row, the Bears found themselves in an early hole. But this time, the team wasted no time in digging themselves out as freshman Angela Csaszar scored her first career goal in the 12th minute. The goal came off an Ariel Cook cross, giving Cook her first point of the year.

"I was proud of the way the players fought back," Barrera said. "We turned right around and got that early goal back and they worked hard to get the corner late."

After allowing the early goal, Salminen was solid in net for the Bears, as she made five saves to keep Creighton from taking another lead. The Bears also held possession more than previous games, as they notched one more shot on goal (7) than Creighton.

Northern Colorado will look to carry its momentum from the big road win back home, as the team plays host to Drake on Sunday, Sept. 18. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.