Sterling blanks Bulldogs

By Taylor Mueller, Sports Information Assistant

SEWARD, Neb. – Struggling to find an offensive rhythm, yet playing stiff defense throughout the game, the Concordia women’s soccer squad suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Sterling College on Saturday afternoon inside Bulldog Stadium.

“I felt like the majority of the game was a midfield battle,” head coach Greg Henson said. “I thought we possessed the ball pretty well at times, we were able to limit their possession at times as well.”

Concordia was able to get off just six total shots to Sterling’s 11 and only one corner kick while Sterling attempted five.

Sterling opened things up with the first goal of the game when they knocked in a corner kick at the 59:17 mark, also marking just the second time this season the Bulldogs have seen themselves fall behind in a ball game. In the 65^th minute, Sterling netted another goal from significant distance to make it 2-0.

Although the Bulldogs fell short, Henson had positive things to say about what he saw on the field.

“We had a good effort today from the girls. We played a good, solid 90 minutes,” Henson said. “Unfortunately we weren’t able to score any goals which is the name of the game in college soccer, but we played well at times, played very well at times and we’ve just got to put 90 minutes together and once we start to do that, these games are going to turn in our favor rather than the other short end.”

Senior Jordan Donahue and freshman Jordan McCoy came the closest to scoring for the Bulldogs with one shot on goal apiece. Defensively, goalkeeper Elyse Muhle finished the night with two saves.

As the Bulldogs progress through the young season and prepare for conference play, Henson noted that he believes his team is headed in the right direction, although there is still room to improve.

“We’ve got one more non-conference game before we start the conference season and we’re just looking for a little more consistency,” Henson said. “We play really well at times, we’ve just got to look to be more consistent to where there’s more series and more strings of solid play and fewer areas that need improvement.”

With the majority of the season still yet to be played, Henson has confidence that his team will continue to grow and get better.

“We’ll get there, we’ve just got to keep working and keep plugging away,” Henson said.

Concordia next plays host to Bellevue on Wednesday, Sept. 18. The opening kick is set to start at 7:15 p.m.