Bulldog Weekly Report (Oct. 25, 2016)

By Jacob Knabel on Oct. 25, 2016 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week

Male: Patrick Skwara, Football

Skwara, a native of Boerne, Texas, made nine tackles (1.5 for loss), a sack and had a pass breakup as part of a dominant defensive effort in the 20-14 win over No. 22 Midland. The senior linebacker has piled up 37 tackles, three stops for loss and an interception this season.

Female: Emily Sievert, Cross Country

Sievert, who hails from Frankenmuth, Mich., put together her best performance of the season by clocking in at 18:32 on the 5K course at the Seminole Valley Stampede on Oct. 22. Sievert’s fifth-place individual performance (out of 216 total runners) helped Concordia to a fifth-place team finish.

News and notes:

Basketball tips off Friday in Denver: The 2016-17 Concordia hoops season will tip off in the Rockies this Friday and Saturday at Johnson & Wales University (Colo.). Head coach Drew Olson’s women’s squad will play defending NAIA Division II national champion Marian University (Ind.) on Friday and then host Johnson & Wales on Saturday. Head coach Ben Limback’s men’s team will open up with Dickinson State University (N.D.) on Friday before playing Johnson & Wales the next day.
--SEASON PREVIEWS: Men | Women

Gooden serves military, sets example for younger brother: There are busy schedules and then there is Le’Dontrae Gooden’s schedule. Part student. Part football player. Part military serviceman. Part caretaker. Gooden wears many hats. For more on Gooden and his hectic schedule, click HERE.

Wrestlers embrace Nicola: Andrew Nicola officially began his tenure as head wrestling coach on Oct. 10. His student-athletes have bought in quickly. Said senior Ken Burkhardt Jr., “I think with Coach Nicola, we’re just going to defy all those doubts and achieve things people didn’t think we could achieve.” For more on the transition, click HERE.

Wrestling opens as GPAC favorite, No. 8 nationally: Last week preseason wrestling ratings were released on both regional and national levels. The Bulldogs topped the GPAC/NAIA North Group while also receiving a No. 8 national ranking in the preseason coaches’ poll. Individually, eight Bulldogs will begin 2016-17 with national ratings, including Kodie Cole, who was pegged No. 1 at 133 pounds. For more on the preseason rankings, 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.

Football

  • Visiting teams still have yet to walk away from Bulldog Stadium with a victory this fall. Concordia protected its home turf once again last week by toppling 22nd-ranked Midland, 20-14, behind a dominant defensive effort. The Bulldogs limited the Warriors to just 23 total yards in the first half. Now 4-0 at home this season, eighth-year head coach Vance Winter’s squad moved to 5-3 overall and to 3-3 in conference play. That mark pulled Concordia even with Midland for fifth place in the league standings. For more information on Bulldog football, click HERE.
  • Dating back to the 2015 season finale, Concordia has now won five-straight home games. It’s the longest home winning streak for the program since the Bulldogs won 11 in a row at home during a span that stretched out over the 1999, 2000 and 2001 seasons. The 2000 squad, coached by Courtney Meyer, went a perfect 6-0 at home. That was the only time during the GPAC era that Concordia has gone undefeated at home.
  • After allowing a season high 537 total yards to No. 16 Dakota Wesleyan in a 52-30 loss on Oct. 15, the Bulldog defense responded in a big way. Up front, senior All-American Trey Barnes was virtually unblockable. He recorded two of the team’s four sacks, made seven total tackles and was also credited with four quarterback hurries. Barnes and company did a number on Midland running back Deon Ransom, who entered the game averaging more than 100 rushing yards per game. He carried the ball nine times for just 29 yards against Concordia.
  • Senior linebacker Michael Hedlund added eight tackles last week, giving him 247 for his career. That total pushed him past Ben Klein (246 tackles) for the most tackles for Bulldogs that have played during Winter’s head coaching tenure. Hedlund needs seven more tackles to register his second-straight 100-tackle season. He would be the only Concordia player in the GPAC era (2000-present) to post more than one 100-tackle season. The program’s single-season GPAC era tackle record is 110 by linebacker Erik DeHaven in 2001.
  • Junior receiver Jared Garcia moved up from third to second on Concordia’s all-time career receiving yards list last week by passing Eric Pralle (1,974). Garcia caught eight passes for 102 yards versus Midland, pushing him to 2,054 receiving yards for his career. Former All-American tight end Ross Wurdeman (2,458 yards) is the only other player in program history to reach 2,000. Garcia already owns school records for touchdown catches in a single season (11) and for a career (28).
  • With last week’s stellar effort, Concordia moved back near the top 10 to No. 11 in terms of total defense (310.4). Among all NAIA football teams, the Bulldogs also rank 19th in rushing defense (128.0), 20th in pass defense (182.4) and 26th in scoring defense (23.1). Patrick Daberkow coordinated units that ranked inside the top five nationally in total defense two of the past three years entering 2016. The stout 2013 defense also possessed an All-American in safety Darnell Woods.
  • Junior Jordan Slough has gotten increased opportunities in the backfield each of the last two home games. The native of Doniphan, Neb., ran 18 times for 66 yards in the 56-0 blowout win over Briar Cliff. Last week he answered the call after Bryce Collins left the game due to injury. Slough rushed 11 times for 36 yards versus Midland. He now has 32 carries for 134 yards on the year.
  • The class of 2016-17 seniors will go down as the winningest four-year group since the 2002-03 seniors, who helped Concordia to a cumulative record of 27-15 between 1999 and 2002. The current senior class, which includes the likes of Barnes, Collins and Hedlund, owns a four-year record of 23-17. If the Bulldogs can secure two more wins, they would post the program’s highest win percentage in a season since the 2001 co-GPAC championship team went 10-2 (.833).
  • Concordia now has an unusual late season bye. The Bulldogs will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 5 when they make a trip to Sioux Center, Iowa, to take on an improved Dordt (4-4, 2-4 GPAC) team that has set a new school record for wins in a season. The Defenders first started their program in 2008. Concordia is 7-1 all-time versus Dordt.

Women’s Soccer

  • The Bulldogs have gotten on a roll since suffering a 3-1 home loss to Midland on Oct. 12. Concordia enjoyed some home cooking last week while recording wins by scores of 4-0 over College of Saint Mary on Oct. 19 and 3-0 over Briar Cliff on Oct. 22 when the Bulldogs celebrated senior day. Fourth-year head coach Greg Henson’s squad has begun to climb the GPAC standings, which now show the Bulldogs in fifth place (one point out of fourth). Concordia is 10-5-1 overall and 5-3 in conference play. For more information on Bulldog women’s soccer, click HERE.
  • The month of October has been good to Concordia, which is now 5-1 this month with the only blemish coming against Midland. Four of the five wins have come by a margin of at least three goals. The run includes the 12-0 thumping of Mount Marty and the 4-0 road victory over Dordt. The Bulldogs have found the second half of their conference schedule to be more favorable after playing each of the current top four teams in the GPAC standings over the first five league games. The final two opponents in the regular season – Doane and Dakota Wesleyan – are a combined 3-10-3 in the GPAC.
  • Over Henson’s four seasons as head coach, Concordia’s goal total has increased each year. It went from 33 in 2013 to 41 in 2014 to 45 in 2015 to 49 so far in 2016. The Bulldogs are now averaging 3.06 goals per game, ranking them behind only Hastings (4.69) and Midland (3.53) among conference teams. Concordia has gotten shut out just twice all season. It has recorded three or more goals in seven of the season’s first 16 games.
  • Five different Bulldogs combined to score the team’s seven goals during last week’s action. Sami Birmingham continued her impressive rookie season by putting away a pair of goals in the win over College of Saint Mary. Birmingham has netted a team high 14 goals. Senior Jordan McCoy, who had not scored this season entering last week, got Concordia going with the first goal of the game in both of last week’s wins. Freshman Rachael Bolin, second on the team with eight goals, made it a comfortable 3-0 lead versus Briar Cliff with the final goal of the week. Juniors Esther Soenksen and Jessica Skerston also contributed a goal apiece during the week.
  • The 2015-16 senior class left Concordia as the winningest class in program history. But the 2016-17 group now owns that title. McCoy and the five other seniors have collaborated on a four-year record of 47-23-9. They were part of the 2014 team that won the GPAC tournament and the 2015 squad that finished as the conference tournament runner up. The 2014 group that went 15-3-4 overall still owns the school record for most wins in a single season.
  • This year’s squad now has a goal differential of plus-34, which is even better than the plus-22 put up by the 2014 team. Concordia’s goal differential is third best among GPAC teams, trailing only Hastings (plus-64) and Midland (plus-42). Other top-four contenders such as Northwestern (plus-8) and Morningside (plus-1) are well short of the top three in terms of goal differential.
  • Goalkeeper Chrissy Lind is the most accomplished Concordia senior when considering her stature in the school record books. She recorded the 23rd and 24th shutouts of her career last week to extend her school record. She also owns career goalkeeper records for games and minutes played and wins. She’s also the single-season record owner for shutouts and games and minutes played. She recently became the second keeper in program history to reach 300 career saves. Her 309 saves rank second all-time behind Ariel Harris (337 saves).
  • The final week of the regular season has arrived. Concordia will attempt to sew up a GPAC tournament quarterfinal home game while making road trips to Doane (2-10-2, 2-4-2 GPAC) for a 5 p.m. game on Wednesday and to Dakota Wesleyan (1-13-1, 1-6-1 GPAC) for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday. Realistically, the No. 3 seed is the best the Bulldogs can hope for. With two wins this week, Concordia would do no worse than the fourth seed in the GPAC tournament.

Cross Country

  • A large meet that featured 25 men’s and 25 women’s teams greeted the Concordia cross country teams last week. First-year head coach Matt Beisel’s squads placed fifth on the women’s side and 12th on the men’s side at the Seminole Valley Stampede hosted by Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Oct. 22. It marked the fourth time out this season for both Bulldog teams. For more on Concordia cross country, click HERE.
  • A total of 14 men have competed at the season’s first four official meets for Concordia. Twelve of them have competed in all four races. Junior Patrick Wortmann has turned in the team’s top finish in three of those four outings. Last week he topped the Bulldogs with a 33rd place finish at Seminole Valley Park. For the most part, Concordia’s top five throughout the year has included Wortmann, Kohlton Gabehart, Thomas Taylor, Chris Shelton and Evan Asche (did not run in Cedar Rapids). The top seven finishers at the Seminole Valley Stampede accounted for Concordia’s team score of 329. Below is a list of every time turned in this season by each of the team’s men’s runners.
    • Patrick Wortmann – 27:11.67 (4th) – 27:54.89 (6th) – 27:01.00 (40th) – 26:19 (33rd)
    • Kohlton Gabehart – 27:13.09 (5th) – 28:02.63 (9th) – 26:50.50 (33rd) – 27:30 (91st)
    • Thomas Taylor – 27:47.12 (11th) – 28:39.15 (14th) – 26:51.48 (35th) – 26:50 (53rd)
    • Chris Shelton – 28:00.88 (13th) – 28:49.86 (15th) – 27:52.96 (74th) – 27:25 (88th)
    • Evan Asche – 28:03.40 (14th) – 28:31.17 (12th) – 27:35.76 (56th) – DNR
    • Cameron Moes – 28:48.25 (17th) – 30:59.62 (34th) – 27:52.50 (73rd) – 27:37 (95th)
    • Josiah McAllister – 29:23.70 (23rd) – 30:09.52 (25th) – 28:19.43 (85th) – 27:41 (99th)
    • Robbie Peterson – 30:53.21 (33rd) – 33:02.47 (50th) – 31:24.62 (137th) – 31:26 (209th)
    • Nathan Matters – 31:48.77 (41st) – 33:30.19 (51st) – 31:54.31 (142nd) – 30:46 (199th)
    • Samuel Ferguson – 31:50.10 (42nd) – 32:16.66 (44th) – 30:37.19 (133rd) – 31:24 (208th)
    • Chris Warneke – 32:56.31 (47th) – 34:55.78 (57th) – 34:32.89 (152nd) – 32:57 (225th)
    • Christian Egger – 34:17.84 (53rd) – 33:47.76 (54th) – 32:34.84 (146th) – 32:47 (223rd)
    • Isaac Golke – 37:41.63 (56th) – 39:11.76 (62nd) – 35:08.03 (153rd) – 34:26 (233rd)
    • John Vecera – DNR – DNR – 36:43.17 (156th) – 34:33 (234th)
  • The Bulldog women have had a total of 13 runners represent them over the first four races. Their finishes for those races are listed below. Junior Emily Sievert shined at last week’s meet, placing fifth amongst the field of 216 runners with her season best time of 18:32. That put her roughly 20 seconds off of an all-time personal best. Sievert has been the team’s top runner at three of four meets in 2016. Taylor Grove’s 25th-place claim was best for the Bulldogs at the Briar Cliff Invite on Oct. 8. Running for the second time as a Bulldog, University of Nebraska-Kearney transfer Shelbi Hackbart came in next in line with a time of 19:36. Concordia finished fifth as a team despite not having the services of senior Marti Vlasin, who will be back for the GPAC championships.
    • Emily Sievert – 19:11.88 (3rd) – 20:25.49 (8th) – 19:05.34 (38th) – 18:32 (5th)
    • Taylor Grove – 20:00.59 (9th) – 20:32.09 (9th) – 18:53.56 (25th) – 19:42 (38th)
    • Shelbi Hackbart – DNR – DNR – 19:32.26 (54th) – 19:36 (35th)
    • Marti Vlasin – 20:16.92 (11th) – 21:16.72 (15th) – 19:55.31 (62nd) – DNR
    • Abby Protzman – 20:29.63 (13th) – 21:28.19 (18th) – 20:09.06 (72nd) – 20:03 (58th)
    • Rebekah Hinrichs – 20:44.16 (16th) – 22:10.00 (27th) – 20:15.62 (75th) – 20:08 (63rd)
    • Jacy Johnston – 20:47.48 (17th) – 21:38.82 (20th) – 19:58.72 (65th) – 20:10 (64th)
    • Erin Lindeman – 21:50.88 (29th) – 21:55.51 (22nd) – 21:20.20 (103rd) – 22:05 (150th)
    • Miranda Rathjen – 22:39.80 (36th) – 23:11.36 (32nd) – 21:29.88 (110th) – 22:08 (152nd)
    • Paige Borcherding – 22:58.25 (43rd) – 24:11.43 (42nd) – 22:48.04 (140th) – 23:29 (182nd)
    • Emily Writebol – 23:23.16 (45th) – 24:26.57 (45th) – 21:59.29 (124th) – 21:48 (140th)
    • Emily Wetzel – 24:09.51 (54th) – 23:26.02 (36th) – 22:32.64 (134th) – 22:43 (170th)
    • Liliana Barrientos – DNR – 27:21.86 (57th) – 25:05.29 (161st) – 25:34 (198th)
  • The Seminole Valley Stampede was made up exclusively of NAIA programs. Concordia was one of three GPAC schools to make the trip to eastern Iowa. The others were Doane and Midland. The Bulldog women placed just behind Doane (fourth) but ahead of Midland (12th). On the men’s side, Concordia came in behind Doane (ninth) and Midland (11th).
  • Based on the latest official GPAC conference ratings published by the NAIA on Monday (Oct. 24), Concordia is expected to finish near the middle of the pack at the conference championships on both sides. The Bulldogs checked in at No. 6 in the GPAC ratings for both men and women. Last season Concordia placed fourth on the men’s side and fifth on the women’s side at the GPAC championships.
  • The Bulldogs have just under two weeks left to prep for the GPAC championships, which will be held Saturday, Nov. 5 at Hastings. Concordia will be back on the same course it ran at the Bronco Stampede on Sept. 17. The Concordia men placed second out of six teams and the women were third among seven squads at the Bronco Stampede. Should any Bulldog teams or individuals qualify, they would then look forward to the NAIA Cross Country National Championships on Saturday, Nov. 19. Nationals will take place at North Farm Course in Elsah, Ill.

Men’s Soccer

  • Concordia’s bid for a top-three GPAC seed continued last week as it held off Briar Cliff, 2-1, in overtime as part of senior day on Oct. 22. Four days earlier the Bulldogs hosted Waldorf University (Iowa) and fell, 1-0, in overtime in what was the final nonconference regular-season game of the season. Head coach Jason Weides’ squad now needs just one more win to clinch the program’s sixth-straight winning season. Concordia stands at 8-5-2 overall and 5-2 in the GPAC. For more information on Bulldog men’s soccer, click HERE.
  • Concordia had gone six-consecutive games without playing an overtime contest prior to last week’s action. The Bulldogs are now 2-1-2 this season in games that have required more than 90 minutes. Forward Marcelo Hernandez has played the role of hero in both of the overtime victories – and both were 2-1 home wins over GPAC opponents. Hernandez’s golden goal sunk Northwestern in overtime on Sept. 24. Concordia has also played double overtime draws with Lyon College (Ark.) and Nebraska Wesleyan.
  • Hernandez has done most of his damage in conference play. Five of his six goals this year have come during the seven GPAC games that have been contested. A native of Quito, Ecuador, Hernandez is in a close race for the title of the team’s leading goal scorer. His six goals are one behind Micah Lehenbauer. Freshman Carlos Ferrer is also in that mix. He has five goals. Concordia has now had 12 different goal scorers combine for the team’s season total of 32 goals.
  • Seniors such as Carlos Acosta and Mark Horsburgh played in their final regular-season home game last week versus Briar Cliff. The four-year seniors have helped the program to a cumulative record of 39-27-9 since the start of the 2013 season. They were part of the 2015 team that upset Hastings and won the GPAC tournament title to clinch the program’s first-ever national tournament berth. Concordia won 10 games in both 2013 and 2014 and then 11 last season. The school record for wins in a season is 12.
  • Horsburgh served as the team’s No. 2 goalkeeper behind Brendan Buchanan prior to taking over the starting role last season as a junior. Horsburgh has 174 career saves to his credit, including a career best 84 last season. Both his goals against average (1.021 to .900) and save percentage (.808 to .812) have improved from 2015. The native of Edinburgh, Scotland, has been in goal for nearly 3,500 minutes during his collegiate career.
  • If Concordia can close the regular season with two more wins, it would set a new program record for GPAC victories in a single season. The 2013 squad went 6-4 in conference play and remains the school record holder for most GPAC wins. During Weides’ tenure, Concordia also posted GPAC marks of 5-3-2 in 2011 and 5-2-3 in 2014. The highest the Bulldogs have placed in the conference under Weides is fifth. The top four seeds earn the right to host in the GPAC tournament quarterfinals.
  • Concordia has been especially effective versus the conference over its last 13 games against GPAC opponents. During that stretch the Bulldogs are 9-2-2 with both losses coming against nationally-ranked teams – No. 4 Hastings and No. 23 Midland this season. Concordia has clinched a .500 or better conference record for the fourth-straight year.
  • The final week of the regular season will bring road trips to Doane (7-6-1, 4-3 GPAC) for a 7:15 p.m. CT start on Wednesday and to Dakota Wesleyan (2-12, 1-6 GPAC) for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday. The Bulldogs also played both teams on the road last year. They tied Doane, 1-1, and rallied to beat Dakota Wesleyan, 3-2. With two wins this week, Concordia would lock up the No. 3 seed and a GPAC tournament quarterfinal home game.

Volleyball

  • It was a light week for the Bulldogs, who enjoyed a rare weekend off. In its only match last week, Concordia struggled in a straight-sets loss (25-12, 25-14, 25-16) loss to No. 16 Doane in what was the annual Pink Out match inside Walz Arena. The loss meant that the rival Tigers completed a regular-season sweep of the Bulldogs. Fifth-year head coach Scott Mattera’s squad slipped to 11-16 overall and to 3-8 in conference play. Currently in eighth place, Concordia has work to do to ensure that it qualifies for the eight-team GPAC tournament that will get underway on Nov. 8. For more information on the Bulldog volleyball program, click HERE.
  • The Doane match marked the 12th of the season and fourth in a row in which Concordia went up against a nationally-ranked opponent. According to MasseyRatings.com, the Bulldogs have played the eighth-toughest schedule among all NAIA volleyball programs. Based on rankings at the time matches were contested, Concordia has played teams ranked Nos. 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 (twice), 9, 11, 15, 16, 17 and 20 during the 2016 campaign. Two other opponents were receiving votes.
  • There were few statistical highlights for the Bulldogs in last week’s loss to Doane, which blitzed Concordia by hitting .437. On a positive note, three Bulldogs hit better than .400: Emmie Noyd (four kills on eight swings), Taylor Workman (four kills on nine attempts) and Jenna Habegger (three kills on seven attacks). However, it was an off night for the team’s senior pin hitters: Paige Getz (three kills, four errors) and Tiegen Skains (one kill, three errors).
  • Getz inched her way closer to 300 kills for the fourth-straight season. She now has 284 kills in 2016 and 1,240 for her collegiate career. She remains No. 4 on the program’s all-time kills list and has a chance to move up another peg. She trails only Becky Ernstmeyer (1,740), Katie Werner (1,600) and Rachel Kirchner (1,315) on the list. Kirchner, now Rachel Miller, continues to serve Mattera’s staff as an assistant.
  • Getz is one of eight seniors that will be honored as part of senior day on Saturday. They will try to lead a late-season run in order to avoid having their first below .500 season as Bulldogs. The senior class has collaborated on overall marks of 17-14 in 2013, 20-12 in 2014 and 26-9 in 2015. Its four-year record now stands at 74-51. The 2015 squad was the first in program history to qualify for the national tournament.
  • Based on accolades, setter Alayna Kavanaugh is the most accomplished among the group of seniors. An NAIA honorable mention All-American in 2015, Kavanaugh has been named first team all-GPAC twice and has garnered six GPAC setter of the week awards throughout her career. Last season she was also selected to the American Volleyball Coaches Association NAIA West Central All-Region team. She’s amassed 4,188 assists and 345 kills over 429 career sets played during her collegiate career.
  • While Getz leads the way with 284 kills this season, two additional Bulldogs have eclipsed 200 kills: Skains (224) and freshman Alex La Plant (208). Workman, another senior, is 21 kills away from 200. Among current players, Skains’ 765 career kills are second most behind Getz.
  • After having this past Saturday off, Concordia will ramp things back up with three matches this week. Up first is a trip to Omaha to take on College of Saint Mary (6-14, 2-10 GPAC) for a 7 p.m. first serve. Then on Saturday, as part of a varsity triangular, the Bulldogs will host both Central Christian College (Kan.) (7-20) at 11:30 a.m. CT and then Dakota Wesleyan (16-11, 3-9 GPAC) at 5 p.m. The Dakota Wesleyan contest will serve as the senior day match. A pre-game ceremony will be held to pay tribute to the seniors.