Today (Oct. 27) the Concordia-Moorhead Cobbers will come to St. Joseph, Minn. to take on the Saint Benedict Blazers in the Minnesota Athletic Conference (MIAC) season finale between the top two teams in the conference.

The matchup looks to be an exciting one, as the Cobbers are ranked No. 19 nationally and come in riding a six-game winning streak that allowed them to already clinch the top seed in the MIAC playoffs. The Blazers, meanwhile, have won back-to-back matches and will be looking to maintain their undefeated record in the month of October.

The Schedule:
Concordia-Moorhead at Saint Benedict, 1 p.m, Oct. 27, St. Joseph, Minn.

The Records:
Saint Benedict: 7-4-4 (6-3-1 MIAC)
Concordia-Moorhead: 13-3-1 (9-1 MIAC)

Key Players:
CSB:
Jr., F, Colleen Bouchard (Five Goals, three Assists in past 5 games)
Fy., D, Megan Lenz (Comes in with two-game goal streak)
Fy., F, Aly Hoffman (Leads team with eight goals)
So., GK, Megan Favorite (13 GA, 1.19 GAA, .843 Sv%, 6-2-4)

CC:
Sr., F, Sarah Rounds (10 goals, 11 assists, and 31 points are all second in MIAC)
Jr., M, Gina Weiss (Eight goals, reigning MIAC player of the week)
So., D, Libby Fransdal (Has started all 17 games for Cobbers)
Sr., GK Ali Nelson (14 GA, 0.80 GAA, .841 Sv%, 13-3-1)

Last Time Out:
On Wednesday, the Blazers traveled to St. Paul, Minn. to take on the Hamline Pipers in a match with huge playoff implications. After giving up an early goal, the Blazers rallied back to take a 2-1 lead on goals by Bouchard and Lenz. With 12 minutes left on the clock, Piper defender Kelsey Caracciolo netted her second goal of the game, sending the match into overtime. Not much happened in the first overtime; the Blazers accumulated only one shot while holding the Pipers to none. Five minutes into the second overtime, Hoffman received the ball on the left side of the goal, broke past the Piper defenders, and struck the ball over the goaltender to give the Blazers a big 3-2 double overtime win.

About the Cobbers:
Having lost only three matches this year, the Cobbers come in rated No. 19 in the national rankings, and are the first-place team in the MIAC. The Cobbers have won six straight, and have not lost a conference match since dropping a match 2-0 on Sept. 22 to the Knights of Carleton. Led by last years Co-MIAC player of the year, Sarah Rounds, the Cobbers bring the most formidable offensive attack the Blazers have faced this year. Averaging 2.3 goals per game, they have scored more goals than any other MIAC team on the season. On the other side of the ball, the Cobber defense is equally as treacherous, having allowed only four goals through ten conference matches thus far.

What's on the Line:
Today's match will be the first time two teams met since the Blazers defeated the Cobbers 1-0 in overtime at last year's MIAC championship game. The Blazers currently sit second in the standings, but the rest of the MIAC is not far behind. On the last day of regular season play, six teams will be fighting for three remaining playoff spots. With a win the Blazers would clinch second place, and home-field advantage for the first round of the playoffs. A tie would assure them of at least a playoff spot. A loss would mean they need to receive a lot of help from around the MIAC in order to qualify for the postseason.