LINCOLN, Neb. – Despite a second Micah Lehenbauer goal that provided the Concordia University men’s soccer team with a 2-1 second-half lead, the Bulldogs ultimately settled for a 2-2 draw with former GPAC rival Nebraska Wesleyan in Lincoln on Monday night. The Prairie Wolves salvaged a tie via a free kick goal from Tyler Wood in the 76th minute.
Ninth-year head coach Jason Weides’ squad is now 2-0-2 over its last four games and will take a 3-1-2 overall mark into the start of conference play this weekend.
“I felt like we controlled a lot of the action. I thought we gave 100 percent,” Weides said. “At the end of the day, that’s all I can ask of the guys. I feel like we’ve been really good on set pieces this year, but they scored both on set pieces tonight. Their kid had a really well-taken free kick.
“I was proud of the response and proud of the way we played, it’s just disheartening to walk away with a tie.”
Concordia more than doubled up Nebraska Wesleyan in the shot category, 21-10. The Bulldogs reacted well after surrendering a goal for the first time since Sept. 3 when Chris Elbracht found the back of the net in the 23rd minute. That ended a string of 388-straight scoreless minutes for Bulldog opponents.
Concordia didn’t flinch. Lehenbauer got loose early in the second half with goals in the 49th and 53rd minutes. His second goal was assisted by Tyler Jensen. Lehenbauer then played a ball that left goalkeeper Jack Nespor with little chance.
Lehenbauer accounted for four of his team’s 10 shots on frame. Jensen and Lewis Rathbone were also active, registering four shots apiece. The 21 shots were a season high for a Concordia team that has made its mark this season as a stingy defensive unit. Entering Monday, the Bulldogs had conceded just a single goal in five games.
In addition to holding a sizeable advantage in shots, Concordia also had six corner kicks to Nebraska Wesleyan’s one. Both teams managed one shot on goal throughout the 20 minutes of overtime action.
The Prairie Wolves (4-1-3) are in their first season as a member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which is affiliated with NCAA Division III.
Saturday will end a three-week stretch between home games for the Bulldogs, who open up GPAC competition by hosting Northwestern (2-6, 0-0 GPAC). Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. CT. The Red Raiders were one of three teams Concordia knocked off during last season’s GPAC tournament title run.