SEWARD, Neb. – Head Coach Nick Smith’s squad has positioned itself to make a jump in the GPAC standings with only three opponents left in the regular season. Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Soccer will face College of Saint Mary in a battle for a potential conference tournament host spot. Following the midweek bout, the Bulldogs will make their final road trip of the regular season to Mount Marty. In the past week, the side went 2-0 against Doane (2-1) and Waldorf (8-0).
This Week
Wednesday, Oct. 23 vs. CSM (5-7-3, 4-3-1 GPAC), 7 p.m.
Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Bulldog Stadium (Seward, Neb.)
Saturday, Oct. 26 at Mount Marty (3-9-1, 1-7 GPAC), 1 p.m.
Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Crane Youngworth Stadium (Yankton, S.D.)
By the numbers
· The Tigers came out firing with a 6-2 shot advantage and got an early goal as the Bulldogs looked dazed for the first 40 minutes of play. With time winding down in the first frame, Savannah Andrews charged the visitors back to life with a header via teammate Senna McMullen. Andrews collected the 20th goal of her career and defender McMullen notched her first point since year one. Hannah Kile and Kierstynn Garner connected for the game winner with the Kearney star notching her 15th career game deciding goal. Goalkeeper Angie Banks tied her career high (six) in saves and four were in the first half.
· Concordia and Waldorf were silent in the opening 15 minutes, but the floodgate opened for the rest of the 90 minutes with eight unanswered goals by the visiting Bulldogs. Andrews used a penalty to take the game winning goal and added on with another via Elena Ruiz. Taylor Slaymaker and Olivia Pyle scored the first goals of their career in the road win over the Warriors. Sierra Springer (39’), Kyana Rios (51’), Kierstynn Garner (57’) and Sierra McElhannon (89’) would also pile on in the game. Mirarosa Gyllenswan was the only Bulldog to smash two assists, but Rios, Avery Black, McMullen and Ashlee Trujillo had one apiece. Goalkeepers Aliya Vidro, Zoe Lavigne and Grady Smith all combined for the shutout.
· Following the back of the net score versus Waldorf, offensive juggernaut Garner has the fifth most goals scored (39) in program history. The Kearney, Neb., phenom passed Jessica Skerston (2014-16) and has eight more scores before tying Gentri Brown (2003-06) at fourth all time. Garner also already owns the game winning goals career record with 15 in less than three years. Andrews has scored four goals in the past three games and has brought her career total to 22.
· The Bulldogs are on a five game winning streak which has only happened nine times (including 2024) since the program’s existence in 1996. The longest winning streak in the regular season has been six (2022, 2003), and including the postseason is eight (2016). The following years have also reached the feat: 2018, 2017, 2015, 2014, and 2004.
· With the 2-1 win over Dordt, Hastings (8-0-1) has already claimed the 2024 GPAC regular season title with 25 points. The race for second is jam packed with the Defenders (5-3-1) and Briar Cliff (5-3-1) tied for runner up with 16 points. Concordia (5-3), Doane (4-2-3), Morningside (4-3-2), College of Saint Mary (4-3-1) and Midland (3-2-3) are all trying to finish out the season with as many wins as possible to take the second spot. With the Bulldogs only having played eight games, they control their own destiny with three games left in the slate. Dakota Wesleyan (3-5) and Northwestern (3-6) will look to slip into one of the final slots in the upcoming GPAC tournament.
· Concordia is 8-0-1 against the Flames since 2015, having bested CSM in more recent years. The Dawgs have a 9-6-2 overall record in the series history. In the 22 games played versus Mount Marty, Concordia has come out on top in every match, undefeated in the game's history. In the series, the Bulldogs have shut out Mount Marty 14 times.
· The NAIA RPI rankings have Concordia ranked 75th with a strength of schedule set at 85th in the country. College of Saint Mary is ranked 133rd and Mount Marty has been given a ranking of 179th. The two opponents are back to back in strength of schedule with the Flames set at 192nd and the Lancers at 191st.
College of Saint Mary
CSM is 5-7-3 overall and 4-3-1 in the conference. The Flames started conference play ablaze (4-0) but have not garnered a win in October (0-3-1). With 40 goals scored, the College of Saint Mary offense is dangerous in the final third. With five players over five goals, the scoring is by committee but is paced by Kylie Anderson and Ella Klusman with six goals apiece. The feeds come in the same fashion as Abbie Anderson, Klusman and Marissa Ring all having five assists. The team’s shot on goal percentage is .638 as they boot 14.7 shots per game. Senior Alivia Schade has collected 1260 minutes between the posts allowing 1.57 goals allowed and 66 saves.
Mount Marty
The Lancers are 3-9-1 overall and 1-7 in the GPAC, with their lone conference win coming from Waldorf (3-0). With 13 goals in 13 games, Alessandra Lopez paces the team with three goals and Keira Christ follows with two. The team has a .547 shot on goal percentage while allowing opponents a .621 percentage. Brooklyn McNac has gotten the majority of the minutes (634) in goal and has a .777 save percentage and 73 saves.
Final Regular Season Game
The Bulldogs will come home for one final match of the regular season hosting Midland as their final opponent. First kick is set to be inside Bulldog Stadium next Wednesday. The match details are below.
Wednesday, Oct. 30
5:30 p.m. – vs. Midland