Bulldog Weekly Report (Oct. 18, 2016)

By Jacob Knabel on Oct. 18, 2016 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week

Female: Rachael Bolin, Soccer

Bolin, a native of Arvada, Colo., put away a pair of goals in Concordia’s 4-0 win at Dordt on Oct. 15. The freshman product of Ralston Valley High School ranks second on the team with seven goals over the season’s first 14 games.

Male: Marcelo Hernandez, Soccer

Hernandez, who hails from Quito, Ecuador, played a starring role in last week’s 3-0 victory at Dordt. He recorded a goal and an assist in the win for the Bulldogs, who currently sit in third place in the GPAC standings. Hernandez has tallied five goals on the year.

News and notes:

Concordia gave Stewart tools to serve world: One of four individuals inducted into the Concordia Athletic Hall of Fame class of 2016, Sean Stewart has made a big impact in the country and in the world since graduating in 2003. The Texas native continues to serve in the Coast Guard. Said Steward, “I’ve been all over the world conducting law enforcement missions and I’ve been in some dangerous situations. Concordia University provided me the opportunity to become a servant leader in the community and in the world.” For more on Stewart’s story, click HERE.

Pink Out match set for Wednesday: The Concordia volleyball program will hold its annual “Pink Out” match Wednesday when it hosts Doane. First serve for the varsity match is set for 7:30 p.m. CT. Pink Out T-shirts can be purchased at the student life office until 5 p.m. on both Tuesday and Wednesday (Oct. 18-19). Part of the proceeds from the shirt sales will go to Pink Bandanas, a non-profit that serves Nebraska families affected by breast cancer.

Concordia football hosts Military Appreciation Day Oct. 22: The Concordia football program’s Oct. 22 date with Midland will serve as Military Appreciation Day on campus. Four Bulldogs are active servicemen. They include Sebastian Garces (Boerne, Texas), Kalen Garrett (Doniphan, Neb.), Le’Dontrae Gooden (Sacramento, Calif.) and Dylan Olmsted (York, Neb.). All four will be recognized during Military Appreciation Day. Service personnel who present military identification will be admitted free on that day. For more info, click HERE.

Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 6 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is already underway in its second year of existence. The show airs live for a half hour every Thursday beginning at 6 p.m. CT on KTMX-FM 104.9 Max Country. The weekly feature can also be heard live via 104.9 Max Country’s website or by downloading the TuneIn Radio app and searching “Max Country.” Throughout the 2016-17 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country.

Concordia Sports Network: Live webcasts for most home varsity contests can be accessed by visiting http://www.cune.edu/csn at game time. Check team schedules/results pages for webcast dates. Scrimmages, exhibitions and junior varsity events are not broadcasted.

Women’s Soccer

  • It was a mixed bag last week for the Bulldogs, who bounced back from a 3-1 home loss to Midland on Oct. 12 with a 4-0 thumping at Dordt on Oct. 12.  That contest marked the fifth time this season that head coach Greg Henson’s squad has put up four or more goals in a game. The Bulldogs now sit at 8-5-1 overall and 3-3 in conference play. Their three GPAC wins gives them nine points in the league standings, placing them sixth entering this week. For more information on Concordia women’s soccer, click HERE.
  • While the Bulldogs are an impressive 28-10-1 in home games under Henson, they have also become a solid road team. The 2014 GPAC tournament championship team went 7-2-3 on the road. The 2015 conference tournament runner-up squad put up a 5-3-2 road mark. This year’s team is also hitting its stride having won back-to-back GPAC away games by triumphing at Morningside and at Dordt. Concordia has won four of its last five conference regular-season road games dating back to last season.
  • Freshmen were responsible for all but one of last week’s five goals. Rookie Rebekah Freeman, a native of Harrisonville, Mo., continued a recent goal-scoring surge by putting away the team’s lone score in the loss to Midland. The B’s attacked in the win at Dordt. Sami Birmingham extended her team leading goal count to 12 before fellow freshman Rachael Bolin knocked in a pair of goals to leave the Defenders in the dust.
  • Among GPAC pairs, Birmingham and Bolin rank as the eighth most prolific goal scoring duo. Birmingham’s 12 goals currently have her tied for fifth on the conference leaderboard. Bolin is just outside of the top 10 with seven goals. Next in line for the Bulldogs is Maria Deeter and Esther Soenksen, who rank in a tie for 16th with five goals apiece. That foursome has helped Concordia average 3.0 goals per game as a team (third best in the GPAC).
  • Accomplished senior goalkeeper Chrissy Lind reached a career milestone in the win at Dordt. Not only did she extend her program career shutout record to 22, she also recorded her 300th career save. Only two players in school history have reached the 300-save mark: Ariel Harris (337) and Lind. A native of Colorado Springs, Colo., Lind has Harris beat in the most essential categories: goals against average (.968 to 1.814) and save percentage (.818 to .746).
  • Lind also recently passed Harris for two program goalkeeper records: games and minutes played. Lind has held down her spot in goal for a total of 71 games and more than 6228 minutes since becoming the starter as a freshman in 2013. Lind has been a consistent force over her career that has seen her put up at least 60 saves each season. She’s also helped Concordia break records for fewest goals allowed in a season two-straight years.
  • The three goals allowed to Midland were out of character for the Bulldogs, who rank second in the GPAC in terms of fewest goals conceded per game (1.07). Concordia is coming off a 2015 season in which it topped the conference with an average of just 0.76 goals surrendered per contest. That figured ranked 20th best among all NAIA women’s soccer programs. The 2016 squad currently ranks 52nd nationally in goals allowed per game.
  • The familiar Wednesday-Saturday conference grind continues this week. The first of four remaining GPAC regular-season games will be Wednesday when Concordia hosts College of Saint Mary (7-8, 4-3 GPAC) in a matchup that will kick off at 7 p.m. CT. The Bulldogs will finish their home slate on Saturday when Briar Cliff (6-6-1, 2-4 GPAC) visits Seward. Six seniors, including Lind, will be honored as part of Senior Day festivities on Saturday.

Men’s Soccer

  • The Bulldogs have now alternated wins and losses over their last seven games following last week’s action. After a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of No. 23 Midland on Oct. 12, Concordia rebounded three days later with a 3-0 win at Dordt, a team that had given ninth-year head coach Jason Weides’ program fits over the previous four seasons. At 7-4-2 overall and 4-2 in conference play, the Bulldogs remain in good standing in the GPAC. Their 12 points place them in a tie for third behind only No. 3 Hastings (21 points) and Midland (15 points). For more information on Concordia men’s soccer, click HERE.
  • The Bulldogs are now 8-2-2 over their last 12 games against GPAC opponents. The only two losses over that stretch are against ranked opponents: No. 4 Hastings and No. 23 Midland. Concordia’s last three conference wins have all come in comfortable fashion – 3-0 road victories over both Morningside and Dordt and an 11-0 stomping of Mount Marty at home.
  • In their four GPAC wins this season, the Bulldogs have surrendered a grand total of just one goal. In conference games only, Concordia has averaged 0.67 goals allowed per game (tied for second best in the GPAC). Though they had a hiccup in the 4-1 loss at Bellevue University, the Bulldogs still rank 21st nationally in terms of fewest goals conceded per contest (0.85). The victory at Dordt marked Concordia’s seventh shutout of the season.
  • A tight race for the title of leading goal scorer continues. Balanced scoring was again on display at Dordt with three different players contributing a goal apiece. Micah Lehenbauer, Marcelo Hernandez and Carlos Ferrer each scored in the team’s most recent victory. Lehenbauer now has a team high six goals while Ferrer and Hernandez have five each. Tyler Jensen, who has left the team, put up four goals in his 10 games. A dozen Bulldogs have registered at least one goal this season.
  • Senior Mark Horsburgh now owns 14 career shutouts to his credit after picking up another one at Dordt. He claimed nine shutouts in 2015 and has four so far in 2016. His goals against average this season of .891 is a career best and is a significant improvement from the 1.021 figure he posted in 2015. The native of Edinburgh, Scotland, has also run his career saves total to 162.
  • Weides is on track to produce his sixth-straight winning season. Only one other time has the program achieved a winning record in five-consecutive years. That occurred between 1985-89 when then head coach Jack Kinworthy guided the Bulldogs to a winning records each year while producing a cumulative five-year record of 34-24-2. Since the start of the 2011 campaign, Weides has led the program to an overall mark of 60-39-12.
  • For the second-straight year, Concordia could end up with more wins away from home than at Bulldog Stadium. This year’s squad is currently 4-2-2 in road/neutral contests and 3-2 at home. The 2015 Bulldogs will be remembered for their remarkable conference tournament run that saw them handle the top three seeds – all on the road. The 2015 team ended up 4-3-1 at home and 7-4-2 in road/neutral contests.
  • A bye in the conference schedule means the Bulldogs will dip outside of the GPAC one final time this regular season when it hosts Waldorf University (Iowa) at 4 p.m. CT on Tuesday (Oct. 18). The Warriors (9-4), a member of the North Star Athletic Association, are 3-2 versus GPAC teams this season. Then on Saturday, Concordia will host Briar Cliff for Senior Day. Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m. CT. Six Bulldog seniors, including Horsburgh, will be recognized.

Volleyball

  • It’s been a tough go against a flurry of ranked opponents for the Bulldogs. Concordia has now lost eight of its last nine matches following last week’s defeats at the hands of No. 1 Midland (four sets) and at No. 11 Dordt (straight sets). Fifth-year head coach Scott Mattera’s squad now stands at 11-15 overall and 3-7 in the GPAC (tied for seventh). For more information on the Bulldog volleyball program, click HERE.
  • Over the past nine outings, Concordia has dropped matches against teams that were ranked Nos. 1, 2, 4, 9, 11, 17 and 20 at the date of play. Of the Bulldogs’ 15 defeats, 11 have come against top 25 foes. Seven of those 11 were ranked inside the top 10. Prior to last week’s action versus Midland and Dordt, MasseyRatings.com had Concordia’s schedule listed as the 17th toughest out of 222 NAIA volleyball programs. The Bulldogs have played each of the teams ranked by Massey as the top three NAIA squads (Westmont, Midland and Eastern Oregon).
  • Senior Paige Getz has continued her rise up the program’s list of all-time kills leader. Recently she has passed both Renae Beikmann (1,223) and Darcy Lindner (1,204) while moving up to No. 4 on the school leaderboard. Her 1,237 kills put her 78 behind current assistant coach Rachel Miller (maiden name Kirchner) for the No. 3 spot with seven matches left in the 2016 regular season. The top two on the kills chart are Becky Ernstmeyer (1,740) and Katie Werner (1,600).
  • Though wins have been tough to come by of late, Concordia has managed to take a set from three teams ranked in the top four in matches that have occurred since Sept. 28. Last week the Bulldogs showed promise when they hit .400 and blitzed No. 1 Midland in the second set. Concordia’s pin hitters played huge during that stretch. Getz (outside) and Tiegen Skains (right side) both floored five kills apiece in the second set. However, the Warriors claimed the third and fourth sets behind a big night from star Priscilla O’Dowd.
  • Amidst the difficult schedule, Concordia’s season hitting percentage has dipped to .194 (ninth in the GPAC and 66th in the nation). The Bulldogs have struggled to regain the prowess they showed on the attack last season when they qualified for the national tournament. The 2015 squad put up national rankings of 19th in kills per game (13.5) and 32nd in hitting percentage (.226). The most significant hitters missing from last year are Annie Friesen (313 kills in 2015) and Claire White (319 kills in 2015). Friesen has been sidelined by injury while White graduated last May.
  • One category Concordia continues to rate highly in is service aces. Its average of 1.8 aces per game ranks No. 42 among all NAIA programs. Freshman Jenna Eller’s wicked serve has produced 0.57 aces per game – good for No. 1 in the GPAC and No. 17 in the nation. Additionally, Taylor Workman ranks 34th nationally in total aces (40).
  • Last week freshman Alex La Plant became the third Bulldog to eclipse 200 kills on the year. Getz, the team leader with 281 kills, is on track for her fourth-straight season of 300-plus kills. Skains (223 kills) has a shot to reach 300 kills in a season for the first time in her career. Her 764 career kills are second only to Getz among current Bulldogs. Workman needs 25 more kills to get to 200 for the second year in a row.
  • This week’s lone match offers another shot at a ranked opponent. No. 15 Doane (19-5, 8-3 GPAC) will visit Walz Arena for a 7:30 p.m. CT varsity match on Wednesday. In this season’s first meeting between the two rivals, the Tigers rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Concordia in five sets. Wednesday night will be the annual Pink Out. The Bulldogs will then have the weekend off.

Football

  • Concordia is now 0-for-3 in its efforts to win a conference road game. The Bulldogs had no answer last week for Dakota Wesleyan quarterback Dylan Turner, who led the 16th-ranked Tigers to a 52-30 flattening of No. 24 Concordia. Dakota Wesleyan piled up 537 total yards, including 347 through the air. The loss likely ended any playoff hopes that remained for eighth-year head coach Vance Winter’s program. The Bulldogs now rest at 4-3 overall and 2-3 in conference play (sixth). For more information on Concordia football, click HERE.
  • Last week marked a stunning turn of events from a defensive standpoint. A week earlier the Bulldogs had limited Briar Cliff to 106 total yards – none passing – in a 56-0 domination. Concordia entered last week with national rankings of seventh in total defense (285.3) and 16th in points allowed per game (19.8). But Turner found plenty of holes in the secondary, completing 23-of-35 passes while tossing for five touchdowns. The 537 total yards allowed were a season high for the Concordia defense.
  • On the bright side, junior receiver Jared Garcia continued his own dominant play. He snagged six passes for 101 yards and three touchdowns. With three games remaining in the regular season, the native of Pearland, Texas, is on track for career highs in every category. Now the school’s all-time record holder for career touchdown catches (28), Garcia is knocking at the door of his single-season touchdown reception record of 11 set in 2014. This season he has 36 catches for 589 yards and nine touchdowns. He needs 48 more receiving yards to reach 2,000 in his career.
  • Meanwhile, senior Bryce Collins continues to pile up numbers in the run game. He carried the ball 18 times for 97 yards and a touchdown at Dakota Wesleyan. That performance allowed him to surpass Gary Seevers (3,257 yards) for second place on the program’s all-time rushing list. Collins now stands at 3,260 rushing yards. The workhorse back also recorded the 30th rushing touchdown of his stellar career in last week’s loss.
  • Though Turner enjoyed a big game, Concordia managed to tag him with a pair of interceptions. Both Trey Barnes and Patrick Skwara registered the first interceptions of their careers. Concordia failed to cash in on the Skwara pick that gave the offense the ball at the Dakota Wesleyan 39. Conversely, Barnes’ third-quarter pick of a deflected pass set up Garcia’s six-yard touchdown grab that got the Bulldogs within 35-16.
  • Senior Michael Hedlund is zeroing in on 100 tackles for the second-straight season after he made 12 more stops (two for loss) last week. His 84 tackles are 29 more than the second-highest total among Bulldogs. Hedlund’s 238 career tackles are the second most for a Bulldog that has played during Winter’s tenure as head coach. Ben Klein (’12) tops that list with 246 tackles. Hedlund currently ranks seventh nationally with an average of 12.0 tackles per game.
  • One of four players that will be honored on Saturday for his military service, senior safety Le’Dontrae Gooden has been a significant addition since he transferred in last fall from Southern Oregon University. In his two-year career with the Bulldogs, Gooden has totaled 114 tackles (8.5 for loss), seven interceptions, five pass breakups and a touchdown. Gooden was a member of the 2014 Southern Oregon team that won the NAIA national title. He made 45 tackles that season.
  • The Bulldogs rotated quarterbacks less last week as Riley Wiltfong attempted 38 of the team’s 46 passes thrown. Wiltfong completed 13 of those attempts for 137 yards and three touchdowns. Concordia is still seeking greater consistency at the position. Bulldog signal callers enter the week ranked 54th in the NAIA in passing yards per game (191.0) and 61st nationally in pass efficiency (111.6).
  • Concordia will welcome a much improved Midland (6-2, 3-2 GPAC) team to Bulldog Stadium on Saturday for Military Appreciation/Parent’s Day. The Warriors jumped out to a 5-0 start before losing two of their last three games. They have fallen to No. 4 Doane, 30-20, and No. 5 Morningside, 34-17. The Bulldogs have won each of the last four meetings with Midland. Last season Concordia dug out of a 35-14 second half deficit and won in overtime, 41-38, in Fremont.

Cross Country

  • As part of their typical every-other-week schedule pattern, the Bulldogs were idle this past weekend. To date, first-year head coach Matt Beisel’s squads have competed in three meets: the Bronco Stampede (Sept. 17), the Dean White Invite (Sept. 24) and the Briar Cliff Invite (Oct. 8). In its most recent outing (Briar Cliff Invite), Concordia placed seventh out of 14 teams on the men’s side and eighth out of 15 squads on the women’s side. For more on Bulldog cross country, click HERE.
  • A total of 14 men have competed at the season’s first three official meets for Concordia. Thirteen of them have competed in all three races. John Vecera made his season debut at the Briar Cliff Invite. All 13 Bulldogs who ran at the Dean White Invite (Sept. 24) improved their times the next time out. Below are complete 2016 season results for all Concordia male runners. Ten of them set season bests at the Briar Cliff Invite, including Kohlton Gabehart who led the Bulldogs in the 8K race with a time of 26:50.50.
    • Patrick Wortmann – 27:11.67 (4th) – 27:54.89 (6th) – 27:01.00 (40th)
    • Kohlton Gabehart – 27:13.09 (5th) – 28:02.63 (9th) – 26:50.50 (33rd)
    • Thomas Taylor – 27:47.12 (11th) – 28:39.15 (14th) – 26:51.48 (35th)
    • Chris Shelton – 28:00.88 (13th) – 28:49.86 (15th) – 27:52.96 (74th)
    • Evan Asche – 28:03.40 (14th) – 28:31.17 (12th) – 27:35.76 (56th)
    • Cameron Moes – 28:48.25 (17th) – 30:59.62 (34th) – 27:52.50 (73rd)
    • Josiah McAllister – 29:23.70 (23rd) – 30:09.52 (25th) – 28:19.43 (85th)
    • Robbie Peterson – 30:53.21 (33rd) – 33:02.47 (50th) – 31:24.62 (137th)
    • Nathan Matters – 31:48.77 (41st) – 33:30.19 (51st) – 31:54.31 (142nd)
    • Samuel Ferguson – 31:50.10 (42nd) – 32:16.66 (44th) – 30:37.19 (133rd)
    • Chris Warneke – 32:56.31 (47th) – 34:55.78 (57th) – 34:32.89 (152nd)
    • Christian Egger – 34:17.84 (53rd) – 33:47.76 (54th) – 32:34.84 (146th)
    • Isaac Golke – 37:41.63 (56th) – 39:11.76 (62nd) – 35:08.03 (153rd)
    • John Vecera – DNR – DNR – 36:43.17 (156th)
  • The Bulldog women have had a total of 13 runners represent them over the first three races. Their finishes for those races are listed below. Twelve of the 13 had season bests at the Briar Cliff Invite, where Concordia’s top five finishers were Taylor Grove, Emily Sievert, Shelbi Hackbart, Marti Vlasin and Jacy Johnston. Hackbart made her debut as a Bulldog.
    • Emily Sievert – 19:11.88 (3rd) – 20:25.49 (8th) – 19:05.34 (38th)
    • Taylor Grove – 20:00.59 (9th) – 20:32.09 (9th) – 18:53.56 (25th)
    • Shelbi Hackbart – DNR – DNR – 19:32.26 (54th)
    • Marti Vlasin – 20:16.92 (11th) – 21:16.72 (15th) – 19:55.31 (62nd)
    • Abby Protzman – 20:29.63 (13th) – 21:28.19 (18th) – 20:09.06 (72nd)
    • Rebekah Hinrichs – 20:44.16 (16th) – 22:10.00 (27th) – 20:15.62 (75th)
    • Jacy Johnston – 20:47.48 (17th) – 21:38.82 (20th) – 19:58.72 (65th)
    • Erin Lindeman – 21:50.88 (29th) – 21:55.51 (22nd) – 21:20.20 (103rd)
    • Miranda Rathjen – 22:39.80 (36th) – 23:11.36 (32nd) – 21:29.88 (110th)
    • Paige Borcherding – 22:58.25 (43rd) – 24:11.43 (42nd) – 22:48.04 (140th)
    • Emily Writebol – 23:23.16 (45th) – 24:26.57 (45th) – 21:59.29 (124th)
    • Emily Wetzel – 24:09.51 (54th) – 23:26.02 (36th) – 22:32.64 (134th)
    • Liliana Barrientos – DNR – 27:21.86 (57th) – 25:05.29 (161st)
  • Both Concordia teams placed sixth when counting GPAC teams only in the field at the Briar Cliff Invite. At the meet, the women beat Midland, Mount Marty, College of Saint Mary, Wayne State College, Dakota Wesleyan, Southwestern Community College and Briar Cliff. Meanwhile, the men finished above Hastings, Southwestern Community College, Wayne State, Dakota State University (S.D.), Dakota Wesleyan, Mount Marty and Briar Cliff.
  • The Bulldogs are set to return to action on Saturday at the Seminole Valley Stampede hosted by Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. That race will be the final tune up before the GPAC championships at Hastings on Nov. 5. Should any Concordia teams or individuals qualify for nationals, they will compete in Elsah, Ill., on Nov. 19. The NAIA Cross Country National Championships were originally scheduled to take place in Charlotte, N.C.