The Concordia University women’s soccer team has clinched a spot in the GPAC Tournament. Concordia will be the No. 8 seed and will travel to No. 1 Dakota Wesleyan University on Nov. 5 for a 1 p.m. contest. The Bulldogs are currently 7-8-2 overall and 5-6-0 in the GPAC.
After a slow start in conference play and several injuries, Concordia head coach Rob Giesbrecht credits his team for hanging tough. “We were 1-3 to start conference play and had some bad luck in losing three players at the same position,” said Giesbrecht. “Our girls have shown tremendous character and have continued to get it done.”
Junior midfielder Sarah Hoffmann discussed the team’s response to the adversity faced early in the season. “Our goal at the beginning of the year was to make it to the postseason,” said Hoffmann. “When the injuries happened, we had two choices. We could put our goals off until next season or still go after it. There were a lot of people who didn’t have high expectations for our team at the beginning of the year, so we just wanted to fight and take things a game at a time.”
Concordia concludes the regular season at Sioux Falls on Saturday. The Bulldogs have already achieved their goal of making it to the postseason, but coach Giesbrecht insists that there is more to come. “Our girls are leaving it all out on the field in every game they play,” said Giesbrecht. “Winning breeds a desire to win more. We’re happy to make the postseason, but we’re not satisfied by any means.”