SEWARD, Neb. – As the season winds down, the Bulldogs are hitting their stride sprinting into a seven game winning streak. Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Soccer will take on Midland in its final test of the scheduled slate before preparing for postseason play. Head Coach Nick Smith’s squad knocked down two more wins against College of Saint Mary (4-0) and Mount Marty (6-0) and asserted themselves into 2nd place (10-5-1, 7-3 GPAC) in the conference standings.
This Week
Wednesday, Oct. 30 vs. Midland (4-3-3, 4-3-3 GPAC), 5:30 p.m.
Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Bulldog Stadium (Seward, Neb.)
By the numbers
· The Bulldogs came out of the gates with tenacity against the Flames, scoring all four goals in the first frame. Concordia rocked CSM with 10 shots while only allowing two (13-5 total) and Savannah Andrews got the Bulldogs started with barely over a minute off the clock. Mirarosa Gyllenswan and Ashlee Trujillo put a goal apiece in the back of the net for their first scores of the season. At Mount Marty, the Bulldogs pounced again, and Kierstynn Garner would score the game winner in the 4th minute. Andrews, Hannah Kile, Kyana Rios and Sierra Springer kicked in scores, and all came via Garner. With the defense clamping down on the home Lancers, Angela Banks would only need two saves to leave the opposing team at nil.
· Captain Banks totaled seven saves and two shutouts in the past week. The Downey, Calif., product has become a stonewall in the net totaling four clean sheets this season. The other two skunks came against Nebraska Wesleyan (2-0) and Briar Cliff (1-0). In the past seven games, the senior goalkeeper has started six contests with a 0.50 goals allowed average, 27 saves, three shutouts, and a .900 save percentage.
· Garner tallied her second weekly award of the 2024 season on Tuesday. She struck fear into her opponents showing out with three goals and seven assists, dominating the competition. The forward was involved with all 10 goals compiling 13 points in the two contests. The shifty Kearney High prodigy has tallied 42 goals (top five all time) and 15 assists in her career. Garner owns the program's game winning goals record with 16 and a season shot percentage of .312. She is second in goals (15), points scored (40) and assists (10) in the GPAC.
· During the seven game regular season win streak, the Bulldogs have averaged 3.71 goals per game, while making it seemingly impossible to score for their opponents (0.43). They have proven to play superior to their last seven opponents many statistics. Categories of dominance: goals (26-3), shot percentage (.295-.061), shot attempts (88-49), corner kicks (36-17) and assists (22-3). Andrews and Garner have put in six goals apiece, while the Kearney High product has produced eight of her 10 season assists in the run. The Concordia defense has made it tough in the defensive third almost doubling the conference foes in shots on goal (57-31). With a win over Midland, CUNE will tie the longest run in program history (eight) that was set in 2016 as the GPAC tournament champions grabbed five regular season wins and three GPAC tournament victories in the stretch.
· With only one game left for every conference member, Hastings is the regular season champion followed by Concordia (21 points) and Dordt (19 points) fighting for second. With a win over Midland, the Bulldogs will keep second place, and the first two rounds will be available to be played at Bulldog Stadium should they make it to the semifinals. Briar Cliff and Morningside have 17 points, while College of Saint Mary and Doane have 16 points. Midland (15 points) currently rounds out the bottom of the tournament placements but could change with an awaiting Northwestern (12 points).
· In the RPI produced by the NAIA, Concordia is ranked 65 and the 3rd highest ranked conference squad with the Broncos (29th) and Defenders (51st) ahead. The Bulldogs have a strength of schedule rating of (107th). Midland is rated 101st by the RPI and 187th in strength of schedule with no nonconference games.
Midland
The Warriors have earned a 4-3-3 GPAC record and fell to College of Saint Mary (3-0) in their last game. Midland is 2-2-1 on the road and scores 2.20 goals per game, allowing 1.30. MU is led by Jaya Soor (six), Aminata Lewis (four) and Rosa Schellmann (four) in goals scored. Lewis, Schellmann and NaTaija Blaylock have two assists apiece. With almost 15 shots per game (14.8), the team’s shot percentage is .149 and shot on goal percentage is .547. Senior Kyla Pires has played all 900 minutes between the posts grabbing 51 saves in the 10 games. Pires has a 3-2-3 record with a .797 save percentage.
Next Week
Concordia has already earned its host spot for the GPAC tournament quarterfinals and will have a chance to welcome the first two rounds into Bulldog Stadium with a win over Midland on Wednesday. The Bulldogs will play in the first round this Saturday as the time is tentatively set for 7 p.m. CT.