SEWARD, Neb. – Every match matters for the final arms race to the GPAC regular season championship. Crunch time is upon the Bulldogs, as they make the trip to Briar Cliff on Wednesday (Oct. 18) and play at home for the final time in the regular season against Waldorf on senior day (Oct. 21). Concordia defeated CSM (2-0) in Bulldog Stadium on Wednesday (Oct. 11) and tied Hastings (2-2) on Saturday (Oct. 14) in the battle for the top spot of the conference. CUNE is now 10-3-2 overall and 6-1-2 in the GPAC.
This Week
Wednesday, Oct. 18 at Briar Cliff (4-4-4, 3-3-3 GPAC), 3:30 p.m.
--Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Faber Field (Sioux City, Iowa)
Saturday, Oct. 21 vs. Waldorf (0-9-3, 0-6-2 GPAC), 4:30 p.m.
--Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Bulldog Stadium
By the numbers
· The Dawgs welcomed the Flames on Wednesday, getting ahead early on the Sierra Springer goal via an assist by Savannah Andrews. Fighting for the second goal most of the match, Concordia broke through in the 81st minute. Getting the nod from coach Smith, forward Ashlee Trujillo came on the field with fresh legs looking for her first collegiate goal. With Kierstynn Garner making a couple of shifty moves, she kicked a cross over to Trujillo, as the Brighton, Colo. product buried the score past the keeper, sealing the win in the final minutes. The home team dominated the ball with a 12-2 shot advantage (7-1 first half), also having an edge in corner kicks (5-2). Bradi Ore gathered a zero saves shutout, proving the back line dominated in the defensive third.
· The Bulldogs got down early (2-0) in the match versus No. 22 Hastings. Both scores came off saves from Ore, which the Broncos followed up with second chance goals. Garner, having missed an open goal shot earlier in the match, made the Broncos pay in the 38th minute of the match. Off a corner kick, Savannah Andrews slid the ball to Kierstynn, just a few feet from the goal line. She kicked a score past the keeper, as hardly anyone moved, not expecting the ball to bend in on its own for Concordia’s first goal. In the 73rd minute, Niah Kirchner passed Garner open, as she ran down the ball at the top of the box. Seeing the goalkeeper running out, KG chipped the ball over her opponent scoring her second of the night. With this goal, Garner stayed the league’s leading goal scorer (15) and reclaimed the lead in points scored (34) for the GPAC. With her 15 goals, she is tied for No. 8 in the NAIA in goals scored. The team controlled Hastings in the last 17 minutes, trying to find the game winner, but couldn’t get one past the Broncos goalkeeper. Ore matched her career high with nine saves in the match previously set a few games before at Jamestown. Grace Soenksen moves to second in Concordia history in games started (84), passing her sister, Esther Soenksen.
· With this past Saturday’s match ending in a tie, Concordia and Hastings stand tied in points (20) with three matches left for each team. The Broncos finish the season with CSM, Northwestern, and Dordt. If any team ties an opponent, it puts the other team in the driver’s seat for the GPAC regular season championship. With the max number of points being 29 between the two teams, whoever wins will be the lowest scoring champion since the league went to 13 teams in 2018. The last team to score under 31 and win the regular season title was the Bulldogs (28) in 2017. Sitting in third is Midland with 16 points, the Warriors lurk behind the top two teams, having four matches left in the conference. This shows the conference depth in 2023 among recent years, which points to every match making a difference.
· The 2023 senior class has highlights written in the books but, may not be done yet with the surprising 2023 season coming to a close. During their freshman season, the Bulldogs won the GPAC tournament championship, defeating Jamestown (2-1) in Seward. The team came out of the regular season tied for second place, but with the champion (Briar Cliff) falling, the team was able to host all three rounds of the GPAC tournament. During their time at Concordia, their record has been 40-22-8 overall and 26-12-7 in the GPAC. The class looks to add their first regular season conference championship with only three games left in the campaign.
· Hannah Haas has appeared in 43 matches (6 starts) in her career at CUNE. The midfielder has tallied two career goals with her most recent coming against Nebraska Wesleyan in a 4-0 shutout of the Prairie Wolves. Coming out of Colorado Springs, Colo., she has been big from the front end of goals, garnering four assists this year. Forward Kassidy Johnson has an interesting fact of starting as goalkeeper for one game in her sophomore season. The Lincoln, Neb. product has tabbed three goals, with one coming against Dakota Wesleyan on Sept. 30. She has two assists this season, one each game, against Mount Marty and Northwestern. Goalkeeper Bradi Ore transferred to Concordia her junior year seeing limited playing time, grabbing five saves, one complete shutout, and allowing zero scores in 131 minutes. She battled for the starting slot this year and has played 1,125 minutes so far with a goals allowed average of 0.81 and a .809 save percentage. She has 38 saves and four complete shutouts, as these numbers put her in the top five in multiple categories for the conference. Highly decorated center back Grace Soenksen returned for her fifth year and has been monumental in the run for the GPAC championship.
Briar Cliff
The Chargers come into Wednesday dead even with a 4-4-4 overall record and a 3-3-3 conference record. They haven’t won in the month of October, tying CSM (0-0), Waldorf (0-0), and falling to Morningside (1-0). Before, they were on a three game win streak defeating Mount Marty (6-1), Hastings (1-0), and Doane (4-3). They have scored 16 goals on 12 assists, allowing 10 scores from their opponent all season. They win by defensive battles, having only been scored on multiple times in two out of their 12 outings. Hannah Shuttleworth is their leading offensive weapon with five goals and two assists, on a team high 29 shots. Gemma White leads the team in assists (three) and has nine points with three goals to boot. They have split time between two goalkeepers, but Jaime Rowlands has totaled 734 minutes allowing six goals on a goals allowed average of 0.74. She has 52 saves and a save percentage of .897.
Waldorf
The Warriors, in their first year as an affiliate member, come into the week winless at 0-9-3 overall and 0-6-2 in the conference. Their last three matches include a tie with Briar Cliff (0-0), and losses against Dakota Wesleyan (1-0) and Bellevue (3-0). The team has scored eight goals on four assists, averaging 7.7 shots per game. They have shot 92 times throughout the season and have a .587 SOG percentage. Gabby Bauman and Iveth Guzman have two goals apiece, while the other four goals come from different players. Waldorf’s assist leader Paige Spatorico has two on the season. Goalkeeper Samantha Linteo has started 12 matches between the posts and has totaled 990 minutes this season. She has allowed 23 scores on a 2.09 goals allowed average. She ranks second in the conference in saves (98) with a .810 save percentage.
Next Week
The Bulldogs will step on the field in Crete, Neb. versus Doane on Wednesday (Oct. 25) for their final match of the regular season. The match is listed below and will be hosted at Al Papik Field.
Wednesday, Oct. 25
7:15 p.m. – vs. Doane