Bulldogs nip Wolves in double overtime
LINCOLN, Neb. – The Bulldogs found goals much more difficult to come by on Wednesday after scorching Nebraska Wesleyan for a combined seven goals in the previous two meetings in the series – both Bulldog victories. An improved Prairie Wolf squad pushed Concordia hard until the Bulldogs ultimately won with junior Nathan Douglas’ decisive goal in the sixth minute of the second overtime period.
Douglas helped relieve frustrations stemming from two-straight losses by drilling the back of the net inside the right post to cap the come-from-behind victory. Douglas maneuvered the ball up the right side of the field on a breakaway before unleashing a shot into the net for his 11th goal of the season (matching his career high from 2011) and the 29th of his career, as he got the best of the opposing keeper in a one-on-one situation.
Thanks to a Colby Twist theft from the Bulldog back line and a goal (his 13th of 2012) in the 52nd minute, Nebraska Wesleyan held the lead for nearly 30 minutes in the second half. Things appeared bleak for Concordia until freshman defender Sean Doran knocked in his fourth goal of the season in the 82nd minute off a deflection to force overtime.
“That was a big moment because we had been knocking on the door, but just couldn’t get a goal,” Bulldog head coach Jason Weides said. “That was a big breath of life for us. Once we equalized we were confident we could get another.”
Both teams recorded 14 total shots in an evenly-contested match. The Bulldogs connected on the only shot attempted in the second overtime stanza and made a winner out of sophomore goalkeeper Brendan Buchanan, who played the entire game in goal and made four saves for Concordia.
“I thought we held the ball really well on defense,” Weides said. “We didn’t hold the ball as well on the attacking end, especially in the first 60 minutes. Once we cleaned that up, we were able to create a lot more opportunities.
“Overall, we defended well. Wesleyan has a real productive attacker (Twist), and he got one goal, but we did a good job of shutting him down most of the night.”
With the win, Concordia (10-4, 3-4 GPAC) captured its third-straight win over rival Nebraska Wesleyan (7-6-2, 4-3 GPAC), who entered play a full two games in front of the Bulldogs in the GPAC standings despite not ranking in the top five of the league in goals scored or fewest goals allowed.
Wednesday’s overtime match was the second of the season for Concordia, which lost 2-1 to then No. 23 Hastings on Sept. 26. The Bulldogs went 1-0-3 in 2011 in overtime contests.
Concordia will be on the road again Saturday when it challenges Briar Cliff (1-12-2, 0-6-1) in Sioux City, Iowa, at 3:15 p.m. The Bulldogs return home Oct. 23 and 27 for their final regular-season games of 2012.