Seward, Neb. – New hire Nick Smith will lead his team into their first two matches this week as he opens his career as a first-time collegiate head coach. The Bulldogs will travel for their opening bout against Kansas Wesleyan University (Kan.) on Wednesday and will play an hour later (8 p.m. CT) than originally scheduled because of the projected heat and humidity. Concordia will return to their home pitch to kick off their season versus Graceland University (Iowa) in front of Bulldog Nation at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
This Week
Wednesday, Aug. 23 at Kansas Wesleyan (11-8-1 in 2022), 8 p.m.
Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: JRI Stadium
Saturday, Aug. 26 vs. Graceland (1-14-1), 7:15 p.m.
Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Bulldog Stadium
By the numbers
· The current roster is dominated by the sophomore class with 11 athletes that represent four out of the top six goal scorers as freshmen last season in a by committee scoring attack. They return leading goal scorer Kierstynn Garner and assist leader Niah Kirchner who looks to build on her four connections in her last campaign. Savannah Andrews finished with four goals in 2022 while being followed close behind by Elena Ruiz and Kirchner with three goals apiece. Hannah Kile and Garner started all 18 games from 2022 as they return others with significant minutes in Shi-Lynn Yon, Kirchner, Ruiz and Andrews. This class has totaled 57 starts and has played in 71 games after only one season, boding well for this campaign and seasons to come for the Bulldogs.
· Nick Smith is optimistic going into his first year and has a ton of club and collegiate level experience. Originally from Whitehouse, Ohio, Nick had served Lourdes University since the summer of 2019 as an assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s soccer programs. In his one season with the women’s program, Smith helped the Gray Wolves break a school record for wins in a season and claim a victory at the conference tournament for the first time ever. In his assistant role, Smith involved himself in all aspects of the program, including training sessions, tactical breakdowns, recruiting, academic mentoring and lineup selections. The men’s program also broke its school record for wins in a season with Smith’s aid.
· In a team filled with sophomores, Grace Soenksen has been a silencer for the opponents’ attacking third as a three-time All-GPAC first team center back. A Lincoln Lutheran High School alum, Soenksen has played four years for the Bulldogs, appearing in 72 games (69 starts) and helping the 2020 squad win the GPAC tournament title and qualify for the national tournament. She also added one goal and one assists last season. Soenksen returns for her fifth (Covid season) and final year leading the defense for the 2023 season and has hopes of contributing more goals in set-piece situations. Grace is the fifth different Soenksen sibling to play soccer at Concordia.
· Kierstynn Garner, a product of Kearney High School, led the team as the top goal scorer and points leader from her 18 games in the 2022 season. She garnered eight goals and one assist which earned her 17 points. She received a second team All-GPAC honor following her first collegiate year and had five game winning goals scoring the lone goal in the win at then No. 25th-ranked Benedictine College. Coach Smith calls her a “difference maker in more ways than scoring.”
· The lineup for the 2023 regular season is split into six nonconference matches and 12 GPAC matches which break down into eight away matches and 10 inside Bulldog Stadium. Conference play is slated to open versus Mount Marty on Sept. 16. Before the GPAC, will host York University (Neb.), Tabor College (Neb.) and Benedictine College (Kan.). They will end their nonconference schedule with a short trip to Lincoln to face Nebraska Wesleyan University on Sept. 14. The team will have three straight intriguing matchups in October as they start off with 2022 GPAC tournament champions Hastings on Oct. 14. Then Concordia lines up against Briar Cliff (Oct. 18) who put them out of the tournament last year. Finally, they welcome new conference foe Waldorf University (Iowa) on Oct. 21 in Seward.
Kansas Wesleyan
The Coyotes went 11-8-1 in 2022 as they qualified for the national tournament eventually falling to William Carey University (Miss.). They also bring in a new head coach in Joe Schwartz who spent the previous two seasons as the head coach of Southwestern College (Kan.) where he was 24-10-6 overall in two years. Kansas Wesleyan was picked to finish second in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) receiving 152 votes (one first place) behind No. 6 nationally-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan University (Okla.). Key losses for the Coyotes is Kayla Deaver who scored 26 goals and added three assists to her senior season. Maleia Jackson is the top returner scoring seven goals and collecting three assists as she sports a number change to No. 5. KWU has not matched up with the Bulldogs since Sept. 8, 2018, when the two teams ended in a 1-1 draw. The previous year (2017) the two ended in a 2-2 draw proving once again that these were two evenly matched teams. The last time these two teams crowned a victor was in 2011 as Kansas Wesleyan took the victory 3-1. They are 3-4 against the GPAC in their last two seasons. The Bulldogs have only defeated the Coyotes once in their history of playing together (2004).
Graceland
Last season, Graceland hosted Concordia with the Bulldogs taking the road victory (5-2) over the Yellow Jackets. Sophomore Kierstynn Garner scored two of the five goals as a freshman proving her impact early in the year. Graceland went 1-14-1 in the 2022 season taking their only win (1-0) over Stephens College (Mo.) early in the season. This preview seems to have a theme as the Yellow Jackets have hired new head coach Randy Porter who served his previous two years with the Kansas Rush Soccer Club in Olathe, Kan. Graceland returns their top two goal scorers in senior Celeste Robledo and junior Emily Carmen who both had three goals in 2022. They are 0-6 against the GPAC the past two seasons, but the series between these two teams is tied up at two apiece.
Next Week
The Bulldogs will stay at home to host two nonconference matches on Aug. 30 and Sept. 2. The matches are listed below and both matches will be played at Bulldog Stadium in Seward.
Wednesday, Aug. 30
8:00 p.m. – vs. York
Saturday, Sept. 2
8:00 p.m. – vs. Tabor