SEWARD, Neb. – Concordia will continue to match up against more conference foes this week, facing Dordt in the midweek, and traveling to Northwestern in the match on Saturday (Sept. 23). With the two wins this week, the Bulldogs moved to 7-0 matching the best start (2019) in the GPAC era. In a win versus Dordt, the Dawgs will have sole ownership on Wednesday night (Sept. 20). CUNE won over an extremely talented Benedictine College (Kan.) on the road, in a 1-0 victory on Wednesday (Sept. 13). On Saturday (Sept. 16), they gathered their first GPAC win over Mount Marty in a one-sided 3-0 victory.
This Week
Wednesday, Sept. 20 vs. Dordt (3-3-1, 0-1 GPAC), 5:30 p.m.
--Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Bulldog Stadium
Saturday, Sept. 23 vs. Northwestern (4-3, 0-1 GPAC), 1 p.m.
--Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: NWC Soccer Complex
By the numbers
· Concordia went into a hostile environment against a very physical Benedictine and came away with a 1-0 victory. Adding the Ravens win strengthened the Bulldogs' resume, and gave them confidence right before going into conference play. A Benedictine defender kicked the ball back to his keeper, as a pressing Carter Hinman met the ball just before the goalie, drawing the foul inside the penalty area. Less than a minute later, Meneses put the ball between the goalkeeper and the left post for his third goal of the season. This goal would be the eventual game winner in the most physical and pressing defense the Dawgs have faced to date. Nolan Fuelberth was a huge part of keeping the Ravens' attacking crosses void, as he glided through the air with his defense ready to head the ball out if he was unable to get there. Many times the Ravens pressed the Bulldogs and forced them to have very short possessions. The visitors had an advantage in corner kicks, 3-4, but gave up more shots (9-5) than Benedictine.
· Looking to tie the best start from the 2019 Concordia squad, CUNE came back home to host Mount Marty in a midday match this past Saturday. The Dawg defense put the Lancers on lockdown in their attacking third surrendering zero shots through 90 minutes, which is virtually unheard of. Gabriel Mendoza, while still busy getting the defense in order, garnered one of his easier shutouts in his career. In the 32nd minute, Izzy Shaddick, out of Lincoln, Neb., dribbled into the box as three defenders surrounded him. Shaddick tapped the ball over to Carter Hinman for the strike and his sixth score in the 2023 campaign. Coming out of the halftime break with a 1-0 lead, Kai Olbrich drilled a low cross, via Shaddick, past the keeper. An earned penalty kick left Dre’ Williams in the penalty area with a rumbling shot to score his first goal as a Bulldog. The final count advantage for Concordia was 9-0 (shots) and 8-2 (corner kicks). With the two Shaddick assists, he tied Aaron Skipworth for the third most career assists (17) in Bulldog history.
· With a 7-0 start, it becomes obvious that their will be some individual leaders atop of the GPAC. Carter Hinman is tied with two others (Antonio Coutinho, Stan van den Beld) for first with six goals as he sits tied for third with 12 points. He may be tied for first in goals but he is way more efficient, only taking 14 shots to get his goals. Hinman has the best shot percentage (.429) of anyone in the GPAC who has at least 10. Already mentioned Shaddick’s four assists, have him tied for second most behind Northwestern’s Luc Roelofs's five. Nolan Fuelberth and Gabriel Mendoza share leaderboards as well with a second (0.33) and third (0.50) place holding in goals-against average respectively. Fuelberth has the league’s second best save percentage (.800) after playing in 3 games.
· With two teams Concordia has beaten (Bellevue, Benedictine) winning over a ranked opponent, their strength of schedule has upgraded. This helps lay the groundwork for the team to seize their first national ranking in program history. Only three spots out in the last poll, the Bulldogs have added two wins, putting more proof that they are a team that can vie for the GPAC championship. Whether they receive a ranking or not, the feeling around the program is that the team is having fun and trying to live up to the ‘go further’ mission by winning one game at a time. Being ranked was never the goal. It is a product of living out their mission.
Dordt
The Defenders come into Wednesday’s match with a 3-3-1 overall record and a 0-1 GPAC record, with a loss (1-0) to Briar Cliff. They have wins over Avila University (2-1) of Mo. and Central Baptist University (4-0) of Ark. They scored 25 goals in seven matches, but excusing one match, have scored seven while allowing five by their opponents. They average 12. 3 shots per game, while allowing 7.4 to their counterparts. Dordt looks to be better in defensive battles, but when they do score they have assisted on 17 of the 25. Their top individuals are Jacob Narkis with five goals and three assists and Blake Hansen having three goals and two assists. Brandon Hansen is their main goalkeeper between the posts, having started four games, and attained 11 saves. His goals allowed average is 0.78 through 378 minutes.
Northwestern
The Red Raiders have acquired a 4-3 overall record and a 0-1 GPAC record as of Saturday (Sept. 16). They have wins over Roosevelt University (2-0) of Ill., Central Baptist (4-1) of Ark., and Faith Baptist Bible College (4-0). They have played one common opponent from this season, losing to Bellevue 2-1 on Sept. 9. Their conference loss came from Briar Cliff, as they lost 4-1 to the Chargers. NWC has 26 goals compared to allowing 10 to their adversaries. Averaging almost 19 shots per game, Northwestern has almost tripled the shots of their opponents (6.9). They assisted on 20 of their 26 goals and have doubled their competition in corner chances (50-23). The Red Raider leaders are Stan van den Beld with six goals and Riley Aarbo (2 goals and three assists). Pablo Aspas is their leading goalkeeper with 2 goals allowed per game through 450 minutes. He has 18 saves through five starts.
Next Week
The Bulldogs will step on the field at home versus Midland on Wednesday (Sept. 27), then will travel to Mitchell, S.D. on Saturday (Sept. 30) to face off against Dakota Wesleyan. The matches are listed below and will be hosted at Bulldog Stadium and the Pepsi-Cola Soccer Complex.
Wednesday, Sept. 27
5:30 p.m. – vs. Midland
Saturday, Sept. 30
3 p.m. – vs. Dakota Wesleyan