No. 12 Hastings claims 2-0 win inside Bulldog Stadium

SEWARD, Neb. – A pair of second-half goals gave No. 12 Hastings enough offensive firepower to come away with a 2-0 victory over the Concordia University men’s soccer team inside Bulldog Stadium on Wednesday night.  Concordia had hoped to knock off the Broncos (13-2-2, 7-0-1 GPAC) for the first time since 1998.

With the loss, head coach Jason Weides’ squad fell to 8-5-4 overall and 4-2-3 in the GPAC. It was the first Bulldog defeat since a 3-2 decision at Dordt on Oct. 4.

“I thought we did a good job of limiting their shots,” Weides said. “They held possession at times, but when you hold the No. 1 team in the conference to 10 shots or less, you’re doing something right defensively. I thought our guys worked hard. I thought we did some good things defensively, we just weren’t able to get that one goal.”

For most of the night, Concordia kept a powerful Bronco offensive attack (first in the GPAC with 2.84 goals per game) in check. Hastings finally recorded the night’s first goal when Tyler Ortlieb drilled a penalty kick in the 67th minute. That goal came on the heels of a hand-ball call in the box.

Then in the 79th minute, the GPAC powerhouse gave itself some breathing room when Chris Gousios beat the Bulldog defense and knocked in his third goal of the season, making it 2-0 Broncos.

Brendan Buchanan, a three-time GPAC defensive player of the week this season, made a pair of highlight-reel diving saves to keep the Bulldogs close. The Broomfield, Colo., native reacted quickly to a header from Julious Goedhart and denied the shot with a dive to his left in the 44th minute to preserve a 0-0 halftime score. Then at the 77-minute mark, Buchanan outdid himself with another sprawling save to his left.

Buchanan and a Bulldog defense led by junior center back Justin Lawrie again performed solidly. They limited the Broncos to three shots on goal. However, Concordia had only two shots on goal of its own. Sophomore Julian Amaya was most active with three shots to lead the Bulldogs.

After a scoreless draw at halftime, Weides and company were thinking upset.

“It was 0-0 at half and we felt like there was room for improvement for us,” Weides said. “I thought we could play better in the second half and ultimately get our chances. I think we had a few chances throughout the game. Either they came up with a good save or it was blocked along the line.

“Overall I thought we responded well.”

Shutouts are nothing new for a Hastings squad that has now blanked five-straight opponents. The Broncos, led by goalkeeper Alex Guyer, have allowed only one goal over their last nine contests.

The Bulldogs end the regular season on Saturday when Dakota Wesleyan (8-8-1, 3-5-1 GPAC) pays a visit to Bulldog Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. contest. Concordia still has a shot to host a GPAC quarterfinal with a win and some help (top four seeds host). In last year’s game, Concordia defeated Dakota Wesleyan 1-0 in Mitchell, S.D.