FREMONT, Neb. – No matter the circumstances leading up to the conference tournament, it would be unwise to ever count out the Concordia University women’s soccer program. For the fifth year in a row, the Bulldogs will appear in the GPAC postseason championship. Concordia earned a chance to play for another title by getting past 17th-ranked Midland, 1-0, in the semifinal round in Fremont, Neb., on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 3).
The route to the final is a similar one taken by the 2016 Bulldog edition that also won 1-0 at Midland in the semifinals. Winner of three GPAC titles (two postseason, one regular season) under sixth-year head coach Greg Henson, the Bulldogs are now 13-2-5 overall this season.
“We’ve really built this program to be successful in November during playoff time,” Henson said. “We focus from the preseason all the way through on making sure we’re getting better and playing our best at the most important time of the year. Sometimes it takes a little bit longer than we would like. I feel like our team and our program is built for success in the postseason. We’ve proven that the last two games. They’ve been two difficult, grind-it-out type of games.”
This postseason, Concordia has gotten back to its tried and true winning formula of seizing the opportunity on the attack, even if it is just one, and then stifling the opponent. On the heels of a 1-0 quarterfinal victory over Morningside, the Bulldogs got the only goal they needed when Lauren Martin notched her 10th goal of the season in the 21st minute. The scoring chance was set up on a throw in by Morgan Raska, who helped Concordia take advantage of the narrow dimensions at Heedum Field.
The Bulldogs later survived a potential Warrior goal that was disallowed because of an offside call. The final shot taken by either team occurred in the 86th minute when Nayeli Rodriguez’s shot on frame was saved by Concordia goalkeeper Lindsey Carley. The reigning GPAC Defensive Player of the Year, Carley made five saves while picking up the clean sheet.
The second-seeded Warriors (13-2-3) have allowed only three goals all season against conference opponents – two of them by the Bulldogs. Even in a victorious effort, Concordia managed only two shots on goal. One of them delivered by Becky Freeman was saved by Midland keeper Rachel Thigpen.
On the flip side, the Bulldogs knew they had to be watchful of the attacking Warrior duo of PT Perez and Rodriguez, which has combined for 30 goals this season. Rodriguez took four shots with one coming on goal. Meanwhile, Perez was completely shut out of the shot column. As a team, the Warriors owned a 12-7 advantage in shots.
“I thought we did a nice job of playing solid collectively as a team,” Henson said. “They have some dangerous players who can take you 1v1. We did a good job of just standing them up, being patient and not letting them in behind. Overall from a defensive standpoint, we worked hard as a team and executed the game plan.”
Henson used three subs off the bench while mostly leaning upon a starting group that has gotten stellar play out of center back Tori Cera this postseason. Senior captain Maria Deeter did not see the field on Saturday.
Now comes the rematch of the 2017 GPAC championship game that saw Hastings celebrate a win in penalty kicks at Bulldog Stadium. This time around, the 11th-ranked Broncos (15-0-3) will host the title game. It will take place at Lloyd Wilson Field with a kickoff of 7 p.m. CT on Thursday (Nov. 8). Hastings’ route to the championship has included postseason wins over College of Saint Mary, 6-0, and Briar Cliff, 5-0.