SEWARD, Neb. – The Bulldogs only have one match left on the regular season schedule, as the team takes on Doane for their Wednesday bout (Oct. 25). Concordia tied Briar Cliff (1-1) in an extremely windy contest on Wednesday (Oct. 18) and dominated in the senior day matchup versus Waldorf (6-0). With this shutout, their total this season jumps to eight, tying for second all time in program history with the 2014, 2011, and 2000 campaigns. The Bulldog record jumped to 12-0-4 overall and 6-0-4 in the conference, managing 16 matches without a loss. With a win or tie against Doane, this team would become the first in program history to stay unbeaten for the entire regular season.
This Week
Wednesday, Oct. 25 at Doane (3-5-7, 1-3-5 GPAC), 5 p.m.
--Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Al Papik Field (Crete, Neb.)
By the numbers
· The wind kept the ball floating for the Dawgs, in the match versus Briar Cliff last Wednesday (Oct. 18). Down 1-0, the chances of making a comeback started to fade for Concordia, as the wind kept pushing shots far outside their intended targets. As the last 10 minutes of the match began, the Dawgs got a late corner kick chance to find the equalizer. Jarrod Henson kicked the corner ball to the middle of the box and Carter Hinman slammed a header to the far bottom corner to knot the game up late. Hinman scored his 10th goal of the year, tying him for 19th in goals scored for a single season in program history with Bernie Ochoa (2001, 02). He stays tied for second in goals scored forthe conference behind Northwestern’s Tim Kaltenberger with 12. The Chargers stayed true to their name collecting 11 fouls in the first 26 minutes and totaled 21 in the match. With the tie, it pushed the CUNE behind Northwestern into third place in the conference.
· Senior day was celebrated this past Saturday (Oct. 21), as Concordia hosted Waldorf for their final regular season home match at Bulldog Stadium. Iker Casanova, Braden Spath, Michael Lindberg and Ryan Wokutch were the four seniors honored, with Spath being the only senior to find the back of the net against the Warriors. The home team dominated with a 21-3 shot advantage over the visitors, allowing zero in the second half. Michael Owens was the only Bulldog to grab multiple goals, scoring his first on a penalty kick for his first collegiate goal and his second on a Dre Williams pass. Also scoring were Youssef Heggy (first collegiate), Victor Menses and Williams for a 6-0 shutout. Goalkeeper Gabriel Mendoza had zero saves but garnered his fourth complete clean sheet of the year.
· The Bulldogs sit in third in the conference with 22 points with a potential to add three more. Tied for first with 23 points apiece are Briar Cliff and Northwestern, with the Chargers having an advantage of two conference games left on the schedule to the Red Raiders’ one. The top three have a massive gap, giving Concordia a guaranteed first round host slot in the GPAC Tournament. Rounding out the top five are Morningside and Hastings, which have 15 points each with one game left on their schedule.
· As the time clock struck 0:00 on the scoreboard in Bulldog stadium in the match against Waldorf, the Dawgs extended their home win streak to 20 (18-0-2) since 2021. Concordia has never gone undefeated in a season with the least losses being two (1971,72’, 73’) when only nine games (or less) were played. The 2017 team went 16-3-1 and the 2022 team went 15-3-3, which are the least losing seasons in recent history. Either way, the 2023 squad has a chance to finish something special. With a win or tie over Doane, they will be the first soccer team (men or women) in Concordia history to finish the regular season without a loss.
Doane
The Tigers come into the match with a 3-5-7 overall record and a 1-3-5 record in the conference. While their amount of wins isn’t impressive, they haven’t lost in the month of October. Doane defeated Dakota Wesleyan (3-1) and tied Hastings (4-4), Midland (1-1), and Dordt (1-1) in their last four matches. They have scored 23 goals on 19 assists with a .139 shot percentage. The Tigers average 11.1 shots per game and have a .524 shot on goal percentage. They have allowed 27 goals and 1.80 goals per game. Guillem Colom leads the team in goals (seven) and assists (six) totaling 20 points. Cesar Gonzalez is the second man with six goals, two assists, and 14 points. Goalkeeper Samuel Montanez has played 1,045 minutes and has allowed 19 scores in that time. He has 49 saves on a .721 save percentage.
GPAC Playoffs
The Bulldogs will be set to host a GPAC opponent on Nov. 1 in Seward, Neb. Many teams have two opponents left, which will provide some last minute shuffling before entering GPAC postseason play. The best case scenario for Concordia is the first seed with Briar Cliff and Northwestern losing out and a Bulldog win. The worst case is to stay in the same spot as the No. 3 seed.