MEQUON, Wis. –
Malaya Sperber (
Jr.-Cedar Grove, Wis.) and
Ingrid Steinbock (
Jr.-Sheboygan, Wis.) were standouts again for the Lakeland University women's soccer team, which staked a first half lead before Concordia University Wisconsin heated up in the second half to defeat the Muskies 4-2 Saturday afternoon.
Sperber scored her 11th goal of the season and Steinbock made a career-high 24 saves as Lakeland was downed in its final Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference match of the season. The Muskies are now 4-13 overall and finish 3-9 in the NACC with a final regular season match remaining at Alverno College on Wednesday.
The Falcons (8-9 overall, 7-4 NACC) finished with a huge 50-3 advantage in shot attempts, including 30 shots in the first half alone. Despite the advantage in possession, it was Lakeland taking a 1-0 lead into halftime after Concordia contributed an own goal in the 36th minute.
Mikayla Belasco (
Sr.-Muskegon, Mich.) sent in a free kick from 40 yards out into the box that a CUW defender attempted to clear but instead deflected right past goalkeeper Kara Claussner.
The Muskies took the 1-0 lead into halftime but Concordia needed less than eight minutes of the second half to not just tie but take the lead. Jacey Read scored a pair of goals, the first at 47:35 of the match and the second late in the 53rd minute to give the Falcons a 2-1 lead.
Concordia added two more goals as Koffy'e Chappel and Aimie Gorman both scored, with Gorman's in the 77th minute pushed the hosts' lead to 4-1. Lakeland scored one more time with just over eight minutes left in the match, shortly after another free kick.
Kaitlyn Taylor (
Fr.-Simi Valley, Calif.) took the kick from just past midfield and sent it ahead to Sperber, who gathered, spun to her left with a few touches before hitting a left-footed shot from 30 yards out past CUW second half goalkeeper Aubrey Johnson that found the upper right corner for her 11th goal of the season and sixth different match scoring in this year.
Steinbock finished the match with 13 saves in the first half and 11 in the second half, breaking her previous career best of 16 saves set in this year's season opener against Ripon College. She also has 189 saves this season, the most by a Lakeland keeper in 29 years and the second-most in school history. Steinbock passed Kristy Rosenthal (185 saves in 1999) for second on the Muskies' single-season list for saves and is behind only Brenda Apel's school record of 213 saves set in 1997.
Lakeland closes out its season Wednesday on the road at Alverno College for a 4 p.m. start in Milwaukee.
