SALINA, Kan. – The Concordia University Men’s Soccer team appeared on the verge of claiming win No. 3 on the season, but an 87th minute goal forced overtime and eventually resulted in a draw. The Bulldogs tied host Kansas Wesleyan University, 1-1, in double overtime in Salina, Kan., on Saturday (Sept. 4) evening. Max Bisinger had broken a 0-0 deadlock with a goal in the 67th minute.
Earlier this week, Head Coach Jason Weides’ squad dropped a 2-0 closely contested decision at Grand View University (Iowa). Concordia stands at 2-1-1 overall.
“It was a frustrating one,” Weides said. “Credit to Kansas Wesleyan. I think they played their best game from what we’ve seen so far of them. Early on they had some good possession but it was mostly in their defensive half. I felt like we worked our way in into the game. We really did not create many chances in the first half. There was little service into the box, very few crosses and very few shots. It was an odd game in that you didn’t see many saves between the keepers. It was frustrating knowing we did not test their keeper.”
The closest the Bulldogs came to a potential golden goal during the extra periods involved a sequence in the 107th minute when Daniel Campbell’s shot was saved by the Coyote keeper. Such chances were few and far between on an evening when Kansas Wesleyan led the shot count, 15-12. The Coyotes also held a slight advantage in corner kicks, 11-9.
Concordia executed a corner midway through the second half when Eli Rhodes’ volleyed the ball towards Bisinger. The native of Rosenfeld, Germany, headed the ball into the back of the net for his second goal this season. The 1-0 lead held up until Jesus Genaro emerged with the equalizer in the 87th minute.
This marked the fifth year in a row that Concordia and Kansas Wesleyan have met up. The Bulldogs are 3-1-1 in those matchups. The Coyotes (0-2-1) are still searching for their first victory of this season.
In goal, Callum Goldsmith started and played the first half for the Bulldogs. Federico Simonetti then covered the second half and the two overtimes. Simonetti was credited with five saves.
This was one Concordia felt like it let get away. Said Weides, “We have to test our opponents more. At times we overcomplicated it a bit. Sometimes the margins are small and unfortunately we weren’t able to take advantage of the chances we had. We had a 1-0 lead and were in position to win, even though we didn’t play our best game. Our guys gave it their all, we just fell a little short (of the victory). We’ll learn something and move on.”
The Bulldogs will be back home on Wednesday to host Benedictine College (Kan.) (1-2). Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. CT from Bulldog Stadium. Concordia hopes to avenge the 2-0 defeat it endured at Benedictine this past spring. The Ravens defeated Bethel College (Kan.), 3-1, on Saturday.