YANKTON, S.D. – With hopes of the GPAC regular season crown, the Bulldogs needed to do their part facing Mount Marty on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 26). Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Soccer lit up the box in the 4-0 decisive victory over the Lancers. Ryan Wokutch was able to be on both ends of a score tallying a goal and an assist in the team’s third straight win.
Concordia now has a GPAC regular season unbeaten streak of 19-0-10 (since 2022). The Bulldogs have a 6-2-8 overall record and a 5-0-4 conference showing.
With two seconds left in the first half, a foul was committed by Mount Marty allowing Oliver Benson to have a crack at the goal from 12 yards outside the box. Bennington, Neb., native Benson kicked a spiraling ball to the top right corner and smiled going up one before the break.
“It was huge,” said Head Coach Jason Weides. “Despite having most of the possession and many opportunities, it was a tight game. It was good to be able to get that breakthrough goal and really have to make them open up. Sometimes it’s a set play like that, teams need to take advantage of and it was a really important moment.”
The Bulldogs came out of the locker rooms unsatisfied with the 1-0 lead after outshooting their opponents 11-2 in the first half (24-4 total). In the 64th minute, captain Ferdi Hagen powered a through ball to a barreling Wokutch, made a move past the keeper, and tapped the ball in. The Paola, Kan., product would feed D’Andre Williams less than 10 minutes later switching typical roles on the offensive end.
Up three, Mattis Hollnagel and Youssef Heggy would team up for the final score to solidify the dominant road win. Heggy, a Dusseldorf, Germany, native scored his third goal in two games as Hollnagel tacked on his second assist of his campaign.
The men’s soccer program has been trucking through GPAC opponents with three consecutive shutouts and have scored 17 goals in the stretch. With 12 different players finding pay dirt this season, the Bulldogs' depth has grown, having 27 different players gaining minutes through 16 games.
Coach Weides said, “We’ve been improving. We have been making strides the whole time. We may be just seeing the fruit of those labors now. We got a lot of guys in. I don’t think anyone who started the match finished the match. Tyrell Kawome got his first minutes of the season today. It was fun to see guys get more playing time and to see their success too.”
Goalkeeper Nolan Fuelberth had to only make one save but clinched his fifth shutout of the year. With a wealth of experience protecting the box, veteran names like captain Iker Casanova, Adrian Wambua, Michael Wyvill, Hagen and Michael Lindberg hand out punishment for coming into their side of the pitch. The opposing offenses have averaged one shot on goal per 90 minutes in the winning stretch.
Concordia (6-2-8, 5-0-4 GPAC) will face Midland (8-5-4, 6-1-2 GPAC) in their final match of the regular season on Wednesday. First kick is set for 8 p.m. CT inside Bulldog Stadium. With the league stacked at the top of the standings, the Bulldogs will need a win in the final game to guarantee a playoff host spot. With a win, CUNE will be in contention for the GPAC regular season championship.