VIDEO: Bulldogs celebrate win over Midland
SEWARD, Neb. – The Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Soccer team entered Wednesday (Oct. 30) night’s chilly and rainy rivalry clash with hopes of capturing a GPAC regular season title. Spurred by leading goal scorer Martin Herrera, the Bulldogs held up their end of the bargain while rallying back with a 6-2 statement win over visiting Midland. Concordia won going away after responding to deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 in an impressive showing.
Head Coach Jason Weides’ squad went 5-0-1 during the month of October and has earned second place in the final GPAC regular season standings. The Bulldogs (7-2-8, 6-0-4 GPAC) did not get the help they needed from Dakota Wesleyan, meaning Morningside finished one point in front of Concordia at the top of the heap.
“It was a really good win not just because of the score but because Midland is a good team,” Weides said. “The elements made it tough. If there was no rain and the ball wasn’t skipping, this would have been a game where teams would have gotten the ball down and played a little bit more. Ultimately, both teams had to deal with this. We were fortunate to take advantage of it in some moments. It made it tough for goalkeepers. We talked about resilience and showing a championship culture.”
Indeed, the Bulldogs displayed their mettle after seeing Hugo Garcia-Rosado Duran find the back of the net in the 14th minute with a banger of a goal that left Concordia almost no opportunity to defend. A mere 11 seconds later, Herrera sent a left-footed one-timer past the Midland keeper from roughly 30 yards out. Those early fireworks highlighted what turned out to be a wildly entertaining first half.
Eventually, the Bulldogs returned to their typical stingy defensive ways and proceeded to rattle off the final five goals of the game. The goals came from the likes of Ryan Wokutch (27’), D’Andre Williams (35’), Herrera (51’), Ferdi Hagen (63’) and Oliver Benson (90’). Concordia was efficient in scoring six times on its nine shots on goal (14 total shots for the evening). Both Wokutch and Hugo Garrote earned credit for an assist.
In goal, Nolan Fuelberth posted six saves in another strong effort. The Warriors (8-6-4, 6-2-2 GPAC) fired away 17 shots while putting a typically stifling Bulldog back line led by the likes of Iker Casanova and Michael Wyvill to the test. Down 2-1 in the 17th minute (following a goal from Adrian Boulaghmal), Concordia never flinched.
Said Herrera, who owns a team high 10 goals this season, “We just kept going and kept going. Just keep working and the results are going to come. Right now, our confidence is super high. Every single guy makes an impact on the field. We’re ready for the tournament.”
The Bulldogs will be riding high into the GPAC tournament having outscored their past four opponents by a combined total of 23-2. A string of 1-1 draws in conference play brought frustration, but Concordia recorded a second-straight undefeated run through the GPAC regular season (and owns a 30-game GPAC regular season unbeaten streak). They may have missed out on what could have been the program’s first ever GPAC regular season title, but the Bulldogs believe they are primed for a postseason of thrills.
Said Weides, “I think the whole season we were growing. This team has been really good about taking feedback and identifying things we can fix. That’s a big reason why we’ve scored more goals and had more wins in the second part of the season. This group is really adaptable and really coachable. We’re growing together as a team not just on the field, but off the field. That’s what championship culture is about.”
Postseason play is up next. As part of the GPAC tournament quarterfinals, second-seeded Concordia will host No. 7 seed Briar Cliff (5-11-2, 4-5-1 GPAC) at 7 p.m. CT this coming Tuesday (Nov. 5). The two sides played to a 1-1 draw during the regular season. The complete GPAC tournament pairings can be found HERE.