SEWARD, Neb. – In a battle between two teams with just one GPAC loss apiece entering the night, the Concordia University Men’s Soccer team came up on the short end. The Bulldogs were shut out for the first time this season in a contest they likely had to have if they were to keep hopes alive of winning a GPAC regular-season title. Host Morningside dashed those hopes by earning a 3-0 victory on Wednesday (Nov. 11) evening.
Thirteenth-year Head Coach Jason Weides’ squad remains in the thick of things in the top four of the GPAC standings. The Bulldogs slipped to 6-2-1 in conference play (8-3-1 overall) with two games remaining this fall.
“We were outplayed and outcoached, top to bottom, in this game,” Weides said. “They were definitely the better team tonight. It was frustrating for us because we thought we could compete much better than we showed tonight. In the second half I thought we came out in the first 10 minutes and played a little bit better. In the first half we were really poor moving forward in the attack.
“Unfortunately they scored two really quick goals. I think that was an indication of how poorly we performed. We generally don’t allow three goals and we almost never allow two goals back-to-back.”
Snow piles bordering all sides of the field provided a wintry backdrop at Elwood Olsen Stadium in Sioux City, Iowa. The two goals that Weides alluded to occurred in the 70th and 72nd minutes and effectively put the game to bed. The Mustangs (8-2, 7-1 GPAC) got their goals from Moritz Lusch, Nicolo Renzi and Okan Golge (10 shots taken). Few teams have had success marking Golge, who now has 16 goals on the season.
Morningside remains in the hunt along with Hastings (8-1 GPAC) and Briar Cliff (7-1 GPAC) as conference title contenders. Champion of the 2019 GPAC regular season, the Mustangs enjoyed a 21-8 advantage in the shot count on Wednesday. Only David Moreno managed to put a shot on frame for Concordia.
Though he didn’t start the game, junior center back Decker Mattimoe returned to action after having been sidelined by injury. Weides inserted Mattimoe into the lineup in the second half and moved Matt Schultz to a holding mid role. At goalkeeper, Federico Andrea Simonetti collected five saves. Bjarne Huth picked up on the shutout on the other end.
Said Weides, “It was a disappointing performance where a top performance was needed. We have to lick our wounds and move on.”
The Bulldogs will play at home for the final time this fall when action kicks off at 3:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. Concordia will have another tough challenge on its hands with Briar Cliff (9-1, 7-1 GPAC) visiting town. The Chargers’ lone defeat was a surprising 1-0 decision at Dakota Wesleyan on Nov. 7.