SEWARD, Neb. – The No. 1 seed for the GPAC tournament has been secured. However, Head Coach Bernie Ochoa’s squad aspires to enhance its chances for an at-large national tournament berth (should it need one) as the regular season nears its conclusion. Last week, the Bulldogs won in decisive fashion, handing archrival Hastings a 4-1 loss before hitting the road for a 15-0 pummeling of Waldorf. Concordia remains unbeaten in league play at 8-0 (10-4 overall). A midweek bye will lead into Saturday’s home collision with Northwestern.
This Week
Wednesday, Oct. 21 – Bye
Saturday, Oct. 24 vs. Northwestern (9-2-3, 4-2-2 GPAC), 3:30 p.m.
--Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Bulldog Stadium (Seward, Neb.)
By the numbers
• For a second week in a row, the Bulldogs are situated inside the top 20 of the official NAIA RPI (ratings percentage index). Concordia slotted in at No. 18 in the RPI released on Monday (Oct. 19). According to the calculation, the Bulldogs have played the NAIA’s 27th most challenging schedule. Outside of league play, Concordia earned a win over Bellevue University, currently No. 15 in the RPI. In the NAIA ARC Ratings unveiled on Oct. 14, the Bulldogs were placed at No. 12 in the Midwest Region (tops among GPAC squads). A new NAIA Selection Committee top 25 poll is scheduled for release on Oct. 28.
• During a highly successful 18-year run for previous Head Coach Jason Weides, Concordia Men’s Soccer won GPAC tournament championships in 2015, 2022 and 2025. The program checked a new box last week by locking up the program’s first ever GPAC regular season title. There were plenty of close calls under Weides, as the Bulldogs placed second in the standings in 2017, 2022 and 2024 and third in 2016, 2023 and 2025. For the fifth consecutive year, Concordia will host a GPAC tournament quarterfinal match. Back in the preseason, league coaches pegged the Bulldogs at No. 1 (four first-place votes) in a close poll that also saw Northwestern and Morningside receive first-place nods.
• It was a stress-free week from a scoreboard perspective. Concordia put together its most dominant effort performance in rivalry history with Hastings, winning by a comfortable 4-1 margin. Three days later, the Bulldogs made their lengthiest road trip of the conference schedule and thumped Waldorf, 15-0, in a contest that clinched the conference’s No. 1 seed. The goal scoring was spread around over the week as 11 different Concordia players peppered the back of the net, led by three goals apiece for Joe McCarroll and Kai Olbrich. Others with multi-goal weeks (two apiece) were Hugo Garrote, Jasper Hofland, Sebastian Montino and Karlo Rodriguez. One goal each was produced by Milo Hegarty, Kondwani Mtawali, Niko Nareike, Kade Olbrich and Connor Robbins. Additionally, Sean Stratman and Michael Wyvill continued to lead the backline and Florian Quast allowed just one goal in his 135 minutes last week. Notably, the Bulldogs have won three straight meetings with Hastings. The 15 goals at Waldorf are tied for the most in a single game in program history (also scored 15 versus Grace University in 2008).
• Coach Bernie Ochoa has emphasized high pressing while letting the Dawgs loose in conference play. In GPAC games only, Concordia has outscored its opponents by a combined total of 38-6. The outburst at Waldorf pushed the Bulldogs to No. 15 on the national leaderboard with an average of 3.21 goals scored per game (No. 1 in the GPAC). In the eight conference games, sophomore Joe McCarroll has broken out as a star. All of his team-high eight goals have come within GPAC play. He’s been flanked by senior Kai Olbrich, who has put away five goals in conference action. On the flip side, Concordia ranks third best among GPAC teams in goals against average (1.43).
• Win streak against conference opponents has reached 14. That number dates back to the program’s late-season 2025 run, which included a GPAC tournament championship. During the streak, Ochoa/Weides’ squads have outscored the opposition, 51-12. Digging deeper, the Bulldogs’ conference dominance has spanned several years. Since the start of the 2022 season, Concordia has put forth a 36-4-10 record in conference regular season games. The 2023 (7-0-4) and 2024 (6-0-4) teams went undefeated in in league play.
The opponent
Northwestern won the 2025 GPAC regular season championship with a 9-0-1 league record. However, the Red Raiders were denied a trip to the national tournament when they ousted from the GPAC tournament (quarterfinals) by Mount Marty in penalties. Now in his 19th season as the program’s head coach, Dan Swier was voted the 2025 GPAC Coach of the Year. On this season’s roster, Swier welcomed back ’25 GPAC All-Conference selections goalkeeper Edoardo Alessandrini (first team), defender Gorka Ilundain (first team), midfielders Juan Miranda (second team) and Diego Quintero (second team) and defender Ben Nederpel (second team). The 2026 Red Raiders started 6-0-1 and received votes in the NAIA coaches’ poll before falling at Dakota Wesleyan on Sept. 23. Northwestern (4-2-2 GPAC) is out of the running for the GPAC regular season title but could still place as high as second in the final standings. The Red Raiders feature two prominent goal scorers in Rasmus Morrison (nine goals) and Emerson Brazones (eight goals). Defensively, Northwestern has been the GPAC’s stingiest team with a goals against average of 0.92. As part of their GPAC championship run last season, the Red Raiders defeated Concordia, 2-1, in Orange City, Iowa.
Next week
Only four regular season games will remain on the slate once this week’s action is in the books. Next week, the Bulldogs will host Hastings on Oct. 14 before traveling to Waldorf on Oct. 17.