SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – In recent seasons, positive results had been hard to come by for Concordia University men’s soccer when up against Dordt. That changed in a big way on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs used three different goal scorers and their seventh shutout of the season in riding to a 3-0 victory in Sioux Center, Iowa, over the host Defenders.
Ninth-year head coach Jason Weides’ squad earned a win over Dordt for the first time since 2011. Concordia is now 2-1 in GPAC road games and has improved its records to 7-4-2 overall and 4-2 in conference play.
“We knew we were up for a big challenge in trying to outwork them,” Weides said. “That’s something we take pride in every time we step out there – outworking our opponent. I think we did that today. We just played simple and held possession really well. We were patient moving forward. That was some of the best possession we’ve had all year.”
The Bulldogs entered the weekend averaging less than a goal allowed per game. Just one of their first six conference opponents has managed to score more than one goal. Despite some lineup shuffling, Concordia kept up its high level defensive play and limited Dordt to seven total shots. Six of those shots were on frame, but were denied by goalkeeper Mark Horsburgh.
Horsburgh and company got all they needed in the second minute when Marcelo Hernandez executed a cut pass to Micah Lenenbauer, who deposited his fifth goal of the season. It was nearly 30 minutes later when Hernandez got loose for a one-on-one after Dilan Samtani played a through ball. Hernandez took advantage, recording his fifth goal of the season. Carlos Ferrer got into the act with a left-footed goal in the 56th minute.
Concordia’s only conference losses have come to the top-two rated teams in the GPAC: No. 3 Hastings and No. 23 Midland. Saturday’s effort was the perfect response to Wednesday’s home defeat at the hands of Midland.
“I was really pleased with the team’s performance,” Weides said. “We had a team-first mentality today. Top to bottom, every single player who stepped on the field played their role really well. We had some guys who hadn’t played as much so some significant things today.”
The Bulldogs will dip outside of the conference for the final time this regular season when they host Waldorf University (Iowa) (8-4) at 4 p.m. CT on Tuesday (Oct. 18). The two programs also met at Bulldog Stadium in September 2014. That contest resulted in a 1-0 Concordia win.