(October 24, 2009 - Ann Arbor, Mich)  Concordia entered Saturday's game desperately needing a win to stay alive in the conference playoff hunt.  After going two scoreless halves with Davenport, the Cardinals wasted little time as a barrage of shots eventually produced the game winner less than one minute into the first overtime.

If the Cardinals wanted any hope a fourth place finish in the standings and a playoff berth, they needed to play the Panthers tougher than when the teams played back on September 19 in Grand Rapid when Davenport won 4-0.  The Cardinals were also looking for their first conference win since September 12 when they beat Cornerstone 2-1.

For much of the scoreless two halves, Davenport (3-6, 5-8) looked like the aggressor as they outshot the home team by a margin of 13-5.  In fact, the Cardinals failed to get a single shot off against the stingy Panther defense during the entire second half.  However, the Concordia defense was equally impressive as they allowed limited quality scoring chances throughout the game.

After neither team could muster up enough offense to score in regulation, the game headed into overtime with both teams looking exhausted after 90 minutes of physical play in the cold and rain.  It was evident right from the overtime kickoff that Concordia had some gas left in the tank as they stormed right to the Davenport goal and nearly put the game away with a shot from Adam Achkar (Fr. - Dearborn Heights, Mich) that avoided the Panther keeper but was eventually blocked by a defender. 

Seconds later a shot by senior Keith Jeffery (Madison Heights, Mich) that looked like it crossed the goal line, was again blocked by a defender and was followed up by another shot by Brian Kressbach (Sr. - Clinton Township, Mich).  Finally, Ben Gau (Jr. - Newark, Ohio) would clean up the blocked Kressbach shot and fire one in for the game winner. 

The victory gives the Cardinals (3-7, 5-8-2) their fifth win overall and third in conference play as well as their fifth shutout of the season which surpasses the 1988 team record of four.   Most importantly, the Cardinals can earn a playoff spot if they win their final two conference games against Madonna and Indiana Tech and hope that Madonna and Davenport falter in their final few games. 

Next up for the Cardinals is a non-conference game against Marygrove (3-9) on October 28 in Detroit at 4pm.  Concordia won the first meeting with the Mustangs 6-0 on September 2 to open the season.  The Cardinals will then play their final home game of the season, as well as honor their seniors, on October 31against Madonna at 2:30.