SEWARD, Neb. – Second-seeded Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Soccer finished one point from the top of the conference table and will clash with No. 7 seed Briar Cliff on Tuesday night (Nov. 5) in its quarterfinal matchup. With a tightly contested GPAC regular season, it will be a straight Dawg fight and must watch soccer to see who will claim the tournament championship. CUNE ended their 2024 conference regular season unbeaten (6-0-4) for the second year.
Next Match
GPAC Quarterfinals: Tuesday, Nov. 5 vs. Briar Cliff (5-11-2, 4-5-1 GPAC), 7 p.m.
--Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Bulldog Stadium (Seward, Neb.)
--Admission: $10 for adults/senior citizens, $3 for K-12; only those with NAIA passes and GPAC student ID’s are admitted free of charge.
By the numbers
· The Bulldogs have won the tournament two times under Head Coach Jason Weides (2015, 2022) and will make their 15th GPAC tournament appearance (17 total) under the 17-year front man. Concordia will look to make the semifinals for the eighth time in the program’s history. Last year, the No. 3 seed Bulldogs were upset (3-0) by No. 6 Dordt in the opening round. With loads of tournament experience coming back, the home team will call upon captain Iker Casanova, Martin Herrera, Ryan Wokutch, captain Ferdi Hagen, Adrian Wambua and Nolan Fuelberth to steady the storm inside the 90 minutes of play.
· The most prominent win came in the final match against Midland with a chance to take the title on a win and Morningside loss. The intensity permeated from GPAC goal leader Hugo Garcia-Rosado Duran who led off with a jaw dropping bicycle kick. Answering the gut check, Martin Herrera clobbered a 30 yard kick into the back of the net only 11 seconds later. With a GPAC title on the line for both teams, Adnan Boulaghmal and Ryan Wokutch scored for their respective teams in the early back and forth. Following the first few minutes of the prize fight, the Bulldogs would settle in and score four unanswered in the following 63 minutes. Fuelberth and the silencing defense threw the Warriors around, only allowing three shots on goal for the rest of the 90.
· Ties, wanted or not, decided many of the games for the Bulldogs in the 2024 season collecting a 7-2-8 overall record. Eight ties took the GPAC’s most ever and point to how dominant defensively Coach Weides’ squad was all season. With the 6-0-4 GPAC record, the Concordia hasn’t lost to a conference team in the regular season since 2022. The team has a 20-0-10 showing from that time and will continue to build on the record next campaign.
· The defensive third is ranked in many categories in the NAIA including 8th in goals allowed (12) and 11th in goals allowed average (0.71). Concordia has acquired seven shutouts (tied for 24th) and has only permitted five opposing assists in its 17 games played. Fuelberth is ranked 21st in goals allowed average (0.79) and gave up 0.79 in goals per game. In the GPAC, he ranks first in save percentage (.810) and fourth in goals allowed (11) per game.
· The offense comes into the tournament on fire, scoring 23 goals in their last four games. Herrera paces the team with 10 total and is now tied for 2nd in the conference. Scores can come from seemingly anyone as eight different players have at least three goals this season. Behind Herrera, Ryan Wokutch (five), D'Andre Williams (four) and Oliver Benson (four) are in front for the team in finishes. Averaging 12.1 shots per game, the Bulldogs have 40 total goals on 25 assists. Williams (five), Herrera (three), and Hugo Garrote(three) lead the team in feeds.
· Hot off the press, the RPI ratings were released today (Nov. 4) and Concordia jumped 10 spots to 60th in the rankings. With a strength of schedule slotted 137th, the Bulldogs will look to improve their ranking against Briar Cliff (138th). The visitors have had a tough schedule rated 57th in the country.
The opponent
The Chargers finish their season with a 5-11-2 record and a 4-5-1 GPAC showing. With 31 goals scored, they have assisted on 30 of their finishes this year. Briar Cliff earned a .117 shot percentage on 14.7 shots per game (2nd in GPAC). BCU had lost four consecutive before defeating Waldorf (6-0) in its final game. Phil Appelt and Marco Laenen pace the team with five goals apiece, and Tate Hansen has the team high three assists. Goalkeeper Philip Haenel has played 1,440 minutes in the net and ranks fifth in the conference in goals against average (1.75). He has allowed 28 goals and grabbed 52 saves in his 16 starts.
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, Nov. 5
(8) Dakota Wesleyan at (1) Morningside, 7 p.m.
(5) Hastings at (4) Midland, 7 p.m.
(6) Dordt at (3) Northwestern, 7 p.m.
(7) Briar Cliff at (2) Concordia, 7 p.m.
Semifinals – Saturday, Nov. 9
1/8 winner vs. 4/5 winner, time TBA
2/7 winner vs. 3/6 winner, time TBA
Championship – Wednesday, Nov. 13
Highest remaining seed hosts, time TBA