SEWARD, Neb. – In-state rival Bellevue University brought a sterling résumé with it to Bulldog Stadium for Saturday (Sept. 1)’s afternoon contest. The Bulldogs held a 1-0 lead for nearly 20 minutes of action during the second half before eventually falling by a 2-1 final. The come-from-behind victory kept the Bruins unbeaten, equaling a school record for longest undefeated run to begin a season.
Eleventh-year head coach Jason Weides’ squad did not get to taste the thrill of victory, but the effort was still represented marked improvement from the 2-1 defeat endured four days earlier at York College. The Concordia University men’s soccer team is now 1-2 overall.
“I think we responded really well. Unfortunately that didn’t result in a victory, but the response was evident,” Weides said. “We took a big step forward today from our last performance. The reality is that had we played like this in our last performance we would have been much more satisfied with the result. Despite the loss, we played a lot closer to what Concordia soccer should look like.”
Assisted by Jack Arra, junior Carlos Ferrer got on the board with his first goal of the season, breaking a 0-0 tie in the 54th minute. That play was the highlight of a nice day for Ferrer, who put pressure on Bellevue with three shots on goal (four shots total). As a team, the Bulldogs outshot the Bruins, 17-15.
In a flash, Bellevue ripped the lead away from Concordia with a goal from Inaki Aldao in the 73rd minute and then one by Toby Milward in the 75th minute. The game winner occurred on a penalty kick and allowed the Bruins to avenge a 3-0 loss in Seward a year ago.
Bellevue (5-0-1) already owns a 3-2 road win over seventh-ranked Columbia College (Mo.) and a 1-0 home victory over Benedictine College (Kan.), a squad receiving votes in the preseason poll. Saturday provided proof of Concordia’s ability to compete with teams of national relevance.
“I think Bellevue will be ranked when the next ranking comes out,” Weides said. “I think it’s evident that we should be able to compete with the top teams in the nation, whether that’s Bellevue or other teams in our conference. I think we can definitely compete with anybody. We just need to find a way to get results against some of these teams. For us, there were a lot more positives in this game than negatives.”
Senior Jack Bennett had a busy day in goal, making nine saves, although Weides commended his team’s defensive play for limiting Bellevue’s dangerous chances. On the other end, AJ Jarvis earned credit for seven saves.
The Bulldogs will be off until traveling to play Kansas Wesleyan University (1-0) next Saturday (Sept. 8) in a game that will kick off at 3 p.m. CT in Salina, Kan.