Dakota Wesleyan University 1, Concordia University 0 (view stats)
The top-seeded Dakota Wesleyan University women’s soccer team remained unbeaten and advanced in the GPAC Tournament with a 1-0 win over Concordia on Thursday afternoon. The host Tigers improved to 16-0-3 on the year, while Concordia ended its season at 7-10-2.
Each team had quality scoring opportunities, but the game remained scoreless until the 60th minute. Dakota Wesleyan’s Kim Duff put a shot on goal. Concordia goalie Ariel Harris made the save on Duff’s shot, but Abby Hubbard scored on the rebound to give the Tigers the 1-0 win.
“We showed some youth today,” said Rob Giesbrecht, head coach of the Bulldogs. “We played well at times, but we were very flat in the second half. Consistency has hurt us at times this year, and we definitely needed to be more consistent today.”
Dakota Wesleyan finished the game with a 19-7 shot advantage. The Tigers also had 15 corner kicks compared to two for the Bulldogs. Dani Richardson made two saves to earn the shutout for the Tigers. Ariel Harris made seven saves and allowed the one goal for Concordia. Skye Pahl had five total shots and three shots on goal for Dakota Wesleyan. Carolyn Chrzan and Mallorie Blanck had three shots apiece for Concordia in the loss.
Concordia fought through several key injuries and a slow start at the beginning of the year to make the conference tournament. Coach Giesbrecht talked about the positives of the season. “We definitely showed a lot of promise,” commented Giesbrecht. We need more consistency, but if we can stay healthy, we feel like we can play with anybody. We’re very optimistic moving forward.”