Bulldog Weekly Report (Sept. 18)

By Jacob Knabel on Sep. 18, 2018 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week

Female: Emmie Noyd, Volleyball

Noyd, a junior from Shelby, Neb., recorded 18 kills (49 attacks, three errors) and nine blocks over last week’s matches versus Midland and at Morningside. The all-conference middle leads the Bulldogs this season with a .317 hitting percentage and with an average of 1.1 blocks per set.

Male: Lane Napier, Football

Napier, a sophomore from David City, Neb., notched a career high 21 tackles, including 2.5 for loss and a sack, in last week’s 16-13 win at Jamestown. The all-conference inside linebacker was named the GPAC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Previous Athletes of the Week
Sept. 11 – Ryan Durdon (football) / Marissa Hoerman (volleyball)
Sept. 4 – JP Verissimo (soccer) / Lauren Martin (soccer)
Aug. 28 – Garrett Perry (soccer) / Jenna Habegger (volleyball)

News and notes:

Homecoming week on campus: It’s homecoming week on the Concordia University campus. Much of the festivities get started on Friday when the athletic department will induct four individuals and one team into the Hall of Fame class of 2018. Then on Saturday, both the Bulldog football and volleyball teams will be in action at home. Additionally, the men’s basketball program will host its annual alumni pick-up basketball game at 10 a.m. on Saturday. For more details on homecoming weekend, click HERE.

Weides at 100: With the Concordia men’s soccer team’s 3-2 overtime triumph over McPherson College (Kan.) last week, head coach Jason Weides earned the 100th career victory of his tenure with the Bulldogs. Weides took over as head coach prior to the 2008 season. Since that time, Weides has helped make the program a consistent winner. The most memorable of all those victories was the upset of Hastings in the 2015 GPAC tournament championship game. For more on how Weides has lifted up the program, click HERE.

New era begins for Bulldog shooting sports: Concordia’s shooting sports program opened up its 2018-19 season over this past weekend at the Fort Hays State University Fall Intercollegiate Shoot (Sept. 15-16) in Hays, Kan. It marked the debut as Bulldog head coach for Scott Moniot. Concordia’s 33 shooters combined to post 16 scores of 90 or better. In terms of high overall, the Bulldogs placed sixth out of 12 teams at the event. For more details on the Fort Hays State Shoot, click HERE. For a season outlook on Concordia shooting sports, click HERE.

Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its fourth year of existence. The show airs live for a half hour every Thursday beginning at 5:30 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 Max Country app. Throughout the 2018-19 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country. Tyler Cavalli serves as the host of the coaches’ show as well as the play-by-play voice for football and basketball. Frank Greene is in his fourth season calling Concordia volleyball.

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.

Men’s Soccer

  • The Bulldogs will head into conference play with some confidence after earning a pair of wins by one-goal margins last week. It took overtime before Concordia claimed a 3-2 home win over McPherson College (Kan.) on Sept. 12. Three days later, the Bulldogs triumphed in a 4-3 seesaw contest at Friends University in Wichita, Kan. At the close of nonconference regular-season action, 11th-year head coach Jason Weides’ squad stands at 4-2 overall. For more information on Concordia men’s soccer, click HERE.
  • The win over McPherson marked a milestone for Weides. The program’s head coach since 2008, Weides earned his 100th career coaching victory. A former all-conference defender as a Bulldog player, Weides could soon become the program’s all-time winningest coach. His 101 wins rank second behind longtime head coach Jack Kinworthy (113 wins). Weides began his professional career as a graphic designer before shifting to coaching full-time. He spent three seasons as an assistant at Concordia for the 2005 through 2007 seasons under previous head coach Art Busha.
  • The Bulldogs entered this season with question marks as to how they could replace all the goals that departed via graduation. Concordia said goodbye to three players who accumulated double digit goal totals in 2017 (Marcelo Hernandez, Micah Lehenbauer and Lewis Rathbone). At this point, no one is on pace to reach the 10-goal plateau, but Concordia is averaging a solid 2.67 goals per game (tied for 39th best in the NAIA). During the current three-game win streak, the Bulldogs have scored at least three goals in each outing.
  • Concordia remains dangerous on the attack by displaying plenty of balance. Five different players combined to score the team’s seven goals last week. Jack Arra and Carlos Orquiz both found the back of the net twice. Arra stole the show versus McPherson with a highlight reel bicycle kick goal in the 62nd minute and then by knocking in the golden goal in the 94th minute. On the season, three Bulldogs share the team lead with three goals apiece: Arra, David Carrasco and Konrad Sinu. Orquiz and Roger de la Villa both have scored two goals.
  • Junior Carlos Ferrer did not get on the scoreboard himself last week, but he still contributed heavily on the attack. He assisted all three Concordia goals versus McPherson and added another assist on the first Bulldog goal of the game at Friends. Ferrer’s five assists are tops on the team and rank 12th nationally. In his career, Ferrer has tallied 10 goals and 12 assists over 46 collegiate games.
  • With senior Jack Bennett (second team All-GPAC in 2017) sidelined due to injury, freshman Callum Goldsmith got his first career start while tending goal at Friends. Goldsmith was credited with one save over his 90 minutes of action. The native of Sevenoaks, England, also relieved Bennett for the overtime session versus McPherson. Bennett left that game after suffering an injury at the close of regulation. Bennett had started 25 consecutive games at keeper.
  • The Bulldogs can make things a little easier on themselves if they can eliminate some of the breakdowns that have occurred from time to time on the opposition’s attacking end. Concordia has allowed at least two goals in every game despite its foes averaging only 10.5 shots per game. More than 20 percent of the shots opposing teams have taken have found the back of the net. Conversely, the Bulldogs have turned 17.4 percent of their shots into goals. Through six games, Concordia has conceded 13 goals, nearly what it gave up all of last season (16 goals).
  • The Bulldogs will have a mid-week bye before beginning GPAC play at Northwestern (4-3, 0-0 GPAC) on Saturday. Kickoff from Orange City, Iowa, is set for 5 p.m. CT. The two sides met twice last season. Concordia avenged a regular-season loss to the Red Raiders by defeating them in last year’s GPAC semifinals.

Cross Country

  • After going more than two weeks between races, Concordia returned to competition over the weekend at the Bronco Stampede hosted by Hastings at Lake Hastings Park. The Bulldogs left the meet with a team title on the men’s side and a runner-up finish on the women’s side. It marked the first team event championship during head coach Matt Beisel’s tenure, which has reached year three. The Bulldogs are now two meets into the season having also ran at the Augustana Twilight back on Aug. 31. For more on Concordia cross country, click HERE.
  • Prior to the Bronco Stampede (which featured a field of six teams for both men and women), Bulldog cross country had not won a meet since the 2013 season. In that particular season, the Concordia men captured first place at the Mount Marty Invite, besting a field of 13 squads. The Bulldogs are also building towards ending their GPAC championship droughts. The men last won a conference title in 2012 while the women have waited since 2005 to win the GPAC trophy.
  • Ranked seventh in the preseason GPAC poll, the Concordia men are out to prove themselves. They may have raised some eyebrows on Saturday by defeating conference favorite and 23rd-nationally ranked Doane, which placed as the GPAC runner up in 2017. The Tigers did boast the men’s individual champion at the Bronco Stampede, but the Bulldogs won the team race with exceptional balance. Concordia had three of the top eight and six of the top 19 finishers. Senior Josiah McAllister clipped freshman Wyatt Lehr at the end of the race and earned a team best fourth-place finish.
  • Following McAllister, who clocked in at 27:52.79 on the 8k course, were Lehr (27:53.58; fifth), senior Thomas Taylor (28:16.13; eighth), sophomore Christian Van Cleave (28:40.93; 12th), senior Evan Asche (29:05.90; 17th), sophomore Jordan Lorenz (29:30.67; 19th), freshman Ethan Pankow (30:02.84; 27th) and sophomore Patrick Schneeberger (30:13.53; 29th). Collectively, they helped the Bulldogs also top NAIA opponents in Hastings, York College and Bellevue University.
  • For the second meet in a row, senior Taylor Grove was the frontrunner for the women. Only host Hastings bested Concordia, which defeated Doane, York, Peru State College and Bellevue. Grove checked in at 20:40.32 in the 5k stampede. The rest of the top seven for the Bulldogs featured freshman Abi DeLoach (20:43.74; fifth), juniors Rebekah Hinrichs (20:54.11; seventh) and Miranda Rathjen (21:16.33; ninth), sophomore Lydia Cook (21:23.12; 11th), senior Jacy Johnston (21:32.91; 12th) and sophomore Sydney Clark (21:41.39; 14th). The Bulldogs put 10 runners inside the top 19 out of a field of 79 runners.
  • A typical cross country schedule features a meet every other Saturday. However, Concordia will be in action back-to-back weeks in this instance. The Bulldogs are now prepping for Saturday’s Dean White Invite hosted by Doane. The meet is set to get underway at 10 a.m. CT from Crete, Neb.

Golf

  • It was a busy stretch at the end of last week for the Concordia golf programs. Both the men and women competed in two-day events outside the state of Nebraska. The men broke a string of just over a week without a tournament by playing at the Siouxland Invitational (Sept. 13-14) in Orange City/Sioux Center, Iowa, where they placed fourth out of 16 teams. On the women’s side, Concordia took seventh place at the Midland Invite on Sept. 10 and then eight place (out of 14) at the Lila Frommelt Classic (Sept. 14-15) hosted by Briar Cliff. For more information on the Bulldog golf programs: Men | Women.
  • Nolan Zikas’ senior season is off to a tremendous start. The native of La Vista, Neb., won the Siouxland Invite by carding a two-round total of 69-69–138. That score represents a program record for best 36-hole total at a single tournament. The previous standard was held by former Bulldog Reid Wiebe (69-74–143 at the 2015 Siouxland Invite). While breaking the record, Zikas earned his first event title since he took first at two GPAC qualifiers as a freshman. Zikas has now shot even par or better in each of his three rounds this season. His career average of 51 rounds stands at 75.75.
  • Nine Concordia golfers either equaled or improved upon their score from the on day two as compared to day one of the Siouxland Invite. The rest of the first Bulldog grouping that followed Zikas included juniors Tylar Samek (77-73–150; 19th), Josh Schaefer (76-75–151; 21st) and Colton Zulkoski (80-76–156; 33rd) and sophomore Jayden Neal (84-76–160; 41st). Samek and Schaefer have the exact same season average (75.33) through 54 holes this fall.
  • In the second grouping of Concordia representatives at the Siouxland Invite, sophomore Harrison Helmer (83-77–160; 41st) put together a solid tournament. The rest of the ‘B’ squad featured freshman Landon Walkenhorst (91-85–176; 68th), senior Grant Suchanek (84-94–178; 70th) and freshmen William Christianson (96-85–181; 71st) and Nathan Auffet (106-88–194; 74th).
  • The team score of 293 on the second day of the Siouxland Invitational represented a significant improvement from the 302 turned in on day one. Through three rounds, the Bulldog scoring average stands at 298.67. No Concordia team has ever made it through an entire season with an average below 300. The 2017-18 squad currently owns the school season scoring average record at 306.88.
  • Freshman Kendra Placke’s presence continues to lift up the women’s program. The Seward High School product has placed inside the top 10 at each of the team’s first three tournaments. Through the first five rounds of her collegiate career, Placke has turned in scores of 76, 87, 82, 81 and 77, respectively, for an average of 80.60. She placed fourth at the Mount Marty Invite, third at the Midland Invite and eighth at the Lila Frommelt Classic.
  • The 339 carded by the women on the second day of the Lila Frommelt Classic marked a season low and a nine-stroke improvement from the first day of the tournament. Placke’s addition has made a big difference in lowering the team scoring. The 2017-18 Bulldogs averaged a 376.44 over 14 rounds. The average this season has plummeted to 358.40. The 339 was lower than any score turned in by the 2017-18 squad.
  • Five teammates joined Placke in North Sioux City, S.D. Junior Murphy Sears cut four strokes off her Thursday round and placed in a tie for 28th (86-82–168) out of 82 golfers. The rest of Concordia’s competitors were sophomore Andrea Peterson (86-89–175; 41st), freshman Britney Jepsen (95-91–186; 56th) and seniors Madison Pitsch (96-94–190; 63rd) and Paighton Barbre (100-100–200; 70th). Five of the six Bulldogs at the meet either equaled or improved their score on the second day.
  • The women will not compete again until Wednesday, Sept. 26. On the other hand, the men will be at The Pines Country Club in Valley, Neb., on Wednesday for the Midland Fall Invite. The tournament is scheduled to get underway at 2 p.m. CT.

Women’s Soccer

  • It was a tale of two very different games in last week’s action for the Bulldogs. After a 4-3 loss at Bellevue University in an offensive battle on Sept. 11, Concordia rebounded with a 1-0 win at Friends University (Kan.) on Sept. 15 while wrapping up nonconference regular-season play. Sixth-year head coach Greg Henson’s squad will head into conference action with an overall record of 3-1-2. For more information on Bulldog women’s soccer, click HERE.
  • The defeat suffered at Bellevue marked the program’s first official loss in more than a year. Though Concordia lost the shootout to Hastings in the 2017 GPAC title game, that contest officially went down as a tie. Prior to last week, the most recent loss handed out to the Bulldogs came by a 2-1 decision in overtime at Graceland University (Iowa) on Sept. 9, 2017. Recent history has indicated that a loss at Bellevue is not a sign of trouble for the program. The Bulldog teams that won either a GPAC tournament or regular-season title in 2014, 2016 and 2017 each fell to Bellevue.
  • The Bellevue game also interrupted a string of 17 straight games in which Concordia allowed either one goal or none at all. The 2017 squad also surrendered four goals to the Bruins, but then rebounded by conceding just eight goals over the season’s remaining 16 contests. The Bulldogs finally picked up their first shutout this season in the win at Friends. Sophomore goalkeeper Lindsey Carley was credited with nine saves.
  • Henson believes that Becky Freeman and Lauren Martin will continue to be two of the team’s biggest attacking threats as the season wears on. Freeman has seen increased playing time as a junior in a forward position. Her three goals are nearing the career high of four that she posted as a freshman in 2016. Meanwhile, Martin has been one of the nation’s leaders in assists (ranked second in the NAIA with eight). Martin has recorded at least one assist in four of the five games she’s played in this season.
  • After surrendering four goals to Bellevue, Concordia made some tweaks to the lineup. Sophomore Victoria Cera started at center back while freshman Cheyenne Smith moved to an outside back spot. Sophomore Michaela Twito also re-entered the starting lineup as a holding midfielder. Freeman and Lauen Martin were unleashed up top to wreak havoc. The changes helped produce a clean sheet.
  • The conference grind begins this week for a Bulldog squad that has made itself comfortable as a consistent top three team in the GPAC. Over the past four seasons, Concordia has turned in GPAC place finishes of first, third, third and second. Over that stretch, the Bulldogs have gone a combined 30-6-5 in GPAC regular-season play (two undefeated conference seasons). Concordia has also advanced to the conference tournament championship game four-straight years.
  • Though the Bulldogs some firepower from last season’s squad, they have managed to be a strong attacking team. Concordia leads the GPAC with an average of 2.67 goals per game. The team’s 16 goals have been spread over seven players. Maria Deeter has a team high four goals. Freeman ranks second with three while three Bulldogs have two goals (Cera, Lauren Martin and Smith).
  • GPAC play will open up on Wednesday with College of Saint Mary (0-6-1, 0-0-1 GPAC) making its way to Bulldog Stadium for a 7 p.m. CT kickoff. Concordia will then take to the road on Saturday to play at Northwestern (1-5, 0-0 GPAC) in a contest scheduled to start at 7:15 p.m. In last season’s action, the Bulldogs defeated the Flames 6-0 and went 1-0-1 against the Red Raiders with the victory coming in the GPAC semifinals.

Football

  • It wasn’t the prettiest win in program history, but the Bulldogs found a way despite many statistical disadvantages in last week’s GPAC opener at Jamestown. Despite being outgained 347-144, Concordia won by a 16-13 score in the first ever meeting with the Jimmies, who officially joined the GPAC on July 1. Second-year head coach Patrick Daberkow’s squad is now 2-0 (1-0 GPAC) with both victories coming down to the wire. For more on Bulldog football, click HERE.
  • In terms of overall record, Daberkow has had one of the best 12-game starts to a head coaching tenure in program history. At 8-4 since becoming head coach, only John Seevers had a better record in his first 12 games, among the 10 head coaches in program history. Seevers led the Bulldogs to an 8-1 record and a NIAC championship in his first season in 1970. He was 9-3 in his first 12 games. Many of the head coaches before Daberkow walked into situations that required building the program back up to respectability in terms of wins and losses.
  • Sophomore linebacker Lane Napier has continued to be a tackling machine. Through two games, he’s piled up 30 tackles, including 21 at Jamestown. His day also included 2.5 tackles for loss. With 21 tackles, Napier was directly involved in a large chunk of the Jimmies’ 81 offensive plays. Considering his production as a freshman (97 tackles, eight tackles for loss), the David City, Neb., native has a shot to break the program’s GPAC era record for career tackles, which is currently held by Sean Stewart (290).
  • So far this season, the Napier and the defense have been up to the task. Concordia’s first two opponents have combined to rush for 172 yards while averaging just 2.5 yards per rush. The Bulldogs currently rank 10th nationally in rush defense, allowing an average of 86.0 yards per game on the ground. That’s a big improvement from the 158.9 rushing yards per game they allowed in 2017.
  • Jamestown did a commendable job of containing Ryan Durdon, the GPAC Offensive Player of the Week after he rushed for 250 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Buena Vista University (Iowa). Durdon’s longest carries last week of 24 and 14 yards both occurred in the second half. The native of Decatur, Texas, ended up running for 53 yards and two touchdowns on 15 attempts at Jamestown. On the national leaderboard, Durdon ranks fifth in rushing yards per game (151.5).
  • Concordia is still working out some kinks in the passing game. Through two games, the Bulldogs have completed 19 passes with several of those being forward pitches to Arthur Anderson. Senior receiver Vincent Beasley (three catches, 46 yards) was enjoying a solid day before an injury sidelined him in the second half. Jake Kemp and Luke Lang both got snaps at quarterback. Lang is the team’s wildcat quarterback. He ran six times for 17 yards.
  • A major reason why the Bulldogs escaped North Dakota with a win was the advantage it had in the punting game. Jamestown shot itself in the foot with two bad snaps while lined up to punt. The first one resulted in a safety. The second one gave Concordia the ball at the Jimmie 14-yard line. On the next play, Durdon carried the ball into the end zone for the game’s deciding points. On the flip side, sophomore Brady Fitzke had another good day punting. He averaged 38.7 yards per punt on seven attempts, including two that pinned Jamestown inside its own 20.
  • Already this season, Concordia has played more games decided by a touchdown or less than it did in all of 2017. The only contest last season that fit that category was the 24-17 victory at Dordt. Every other contest was decided by double-digit point spreads. The Bulldogs’ most lopsided win last fall was a 44-14 home victory over Midland.
  • Midland (2-1, 0-1 GPAC) happens to be this week’s opponent. The Warriors will invade Bulldog Stadium on homecoming Saturday in a game that will kick off at 1 p.m. CT. Head coach Jeff Jamrog’s squad will attempt to end a six-game series losing streak against Concordia. Midland is coming off a 49-20 loss at fifth-ranked Northwestern last weekend.

Volleyball

  • The undefeated run finally came to an end last week as the degree of difficulty ramped up inside conference play. After rattling off 12 wins to open up the 2018 season, the Bulldogs fell in four sets at home to eighth-ranked Midland on Sept. 11 and at Morningside on Sept. 13. In both cases, Concordia dropped the fourth set by two points. First-year head coach Ben Boldt’s squad now stands at 12-2 overall and at 2-2 in conference play. For more on Bulldog volleyball, click HERE.
  • The 12-0 start to the season stands as one of the top undefeated runs to open up a campaign in school history. During the GPAC era (2000-present), the only other Concordia volleyball team to remain unbeaten for a longer period of time was the 2005 edition coached by Rachel Miller. The ’05 squad started out 18-0 before finally enduring a straight-sets defeat at the hands of National American on Sept. 17, 2005. Miller’s team wound up at 24-11 overall (9-7 GPAC).
  • Despite last week’s pair of losses, the Bulldogs continue to show vast improvement as compared to a year ago. The 2017 squad won five of 41 sets when playing against nationally-ranked opponents and did not record a win over a team that was either ranked or receiving votes nationally at the time matches were played. Midland was Concordia’s first nationally-ranked opponent of the season (a four-set loss). However, the Bulldogs own two wins over teams that were receiving votes when matches were contested (Kansas Wesleyan and McPherson College).
  • Sophomore Marissa Hoerman and junior Emmie Noyd picked up GPAC player of the week honors, as announced on Sept. 11. A native of Evergreen, Colo., Hoerman has been shooting up the national leaderboard. Among NAIA players, Hoerman ranks just outside the top 50 with 234 total digs and 44th with an average of 4.88 digs per game. Hoerman has put up 20 or more digs in three of the past four matches. Meanwhile, Noyd is the team’s most efficient attacker. She averages 2.76 kills per set while hitting .317.
  • The Morningside match marked the first time this season that Concordia has dropped the opening two sets. Even with last week’s results, the Bulldogs own a record of 38-10 in set play. Concordia won its first 25 sets this season before College of Saint Mary finally took the second set in their meeting on Sept. 4. Of the 10 sets the Bulldogs have surrendered so far, four of them have been decided by two-point margins.
  • Concordia knew the going would get tougher once GPAC action started. The Bulldogs did manage to outhit Midland (.188 to .154) before being outhit by Morningside (.185 to .115). GPAC grinders typically lend to lower team hitting percentages. But on the national leaderboard, Concordia boasts rankings of 13th in hitting percentage (.244), 22nd in kills per game (13.2), 26th in assists per game (12.1) and 33rd in blocks per game (2.08).
  • Senior Jenna Habegger’s development has been one of the great stories of a regular season that is already about half gone. The native of Pawnee City, Neb., is on track to fly by her career high of 219 kills in a season set in 2017. She has put down 159 kills (3.53 per game) and is hitting .271, a big jump from the .193 percentage she put up as a junior. Habegger has steadily earned more playing time each season since arriving at Concordia in 2015.
  • Sophomore Kara Stark, who hails from Frisco, Texas, is an emerging weapon on the outside. At 6-foot-2, Stark is one of the tallest players on the roster. Her totals of eight kills on 31 attacks at Morningside represented career highs. Stark also provided a spark in the fourth set of the match versus Midland. Her kill with the Bulldogs down 20-13 ignited a comeback that eventually saw them take a 26-25 lead in the set. Stark has 27 kills this season.
  • It doesn’t get any easier now that GPAC play is in full swing. Three conference matches make up this week’s schedule. Concordia will host No. 22 Doane (8-7, 1-2 GPAC) tonight (Sept. 18) at 7:30, then travel to 11th-ranked Hastings (8-2, 3-0 GPAC) for another 7:30 p.m. match on Thursday before welcoming No. 16 Northwestern (11-4, 2-1 GPAC) to Walz Arena for a 5 p.m. clash on homecoming Saturday.