SEWARD, Neb. – Zero goals were scored in the first 44 minutes. The proceeding time would look the opposite, as the Bulldogs outlasted Dakota Wesleyan, 3-2, in the goal-for-goal affair on Saturday (Oct. 10). Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Soccer would survive a late goal peppering in the final minutes and use Kai Olbrich’s brace to keep an undefeated GPAC record.
First year Head Coach Bernie Ochoa has his squad doing whatever it takes to win with a 6-0 conference showing and a seven-game win streak (8-4 overall).
“We knew it was going to be a hard-fought match, knowing that they were right behind us in second place,” Coach Ochoa said. “We knew they were going to have a good tactical game plan against us, and we were going to have to be patient. They made it difficult for us to break through. Luckily, we were patient, kept battling and were able to score toward the end of the first half, which gave us a little breathing room. We knew they were going to keep fighting and become more offensive to try to get the equalizer. After that, it was a true test of our character, responding goal after goal in those situations and getting a crucial goal at the end to go up and finish it off.”
The Bulldogs needed every bit of Olbrich’s two-score performance. The senior, out of Bennington, Neb., sliced through three defenders and buried his second goal into the back of net for the resurgence back into the lead. The game winner came in the 65th minute via Lucas Montino and Kai’s (from Milo Hegarty) first was punched in with 31 seconds left before the halftime break.
Sebastian Montino started a flurry of offense in the second half. With the two teams tied (1-1) in the 63rd minute, the Chilean sent in his third score of the season from Joe McCarroll. He leads the team with 18 shots on the season.
“We're very grateful for the support,” Sebastian said. “We hope everyone to come and watch our game and support us because we're going to give everything to win the GPAC and hopefully go to nationals.”
The Tigers’ Maximilian Nolle would respond just over a minute later. Olbrich would end the scoring less than a minute after the DWU goal.
Concordia would outshoot Dakota Wesleyan, 16-12, but the final five minutes was a heart-pounding action. The Tigers blasted a potential game-tying score, but goalkeeper Florian Quast made the diving save. Two offside penalties made would be goals by the visitors count for nothing in the final moments.
The Bulldog offense continues to be diverse as the side has 12 different goal scorers as 17 athletes have marked points.
Concordia will host Hastings (3-7-1, 1-4-1 GPAC) on Wednesday (Oct. 14) inside Bulldog Stadium. The two will take the pitch at 8 p.m. CT. The Bulldogs defeated the Broncos in the regular season (3-1) and in overtime (1-0) of the GPAC tournament quarterfinals.