Bulldog Weekly Report (Sept. 26)

By Jacob Knabel on Sep. 26, 2017 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week

Female: Emily Deschaine, Cross Country

Deschaine, who a native of Frankenmuth, Mich., earned her second top 10 finish of the season by running her 5k race in 19:56.22 at the Dean White Invite hosted by Doane. Deschaine was an all-conference runner and a national qualifier during the 2016 cross country season.

Male: Kordell Glause, Football

A junior from Palmer, Neb., Glause starred last week for a defense that spurred a 29-18 upset of seventh-ranked Doane. Glause recorded six tackles, a sack and an interception and was named the team’s defensive player of the week. Glause has made 18 tackles this season.

Previous athletes of the week
Sept. 19 – Lewis Rathbone (soccer) / Victoria Cera (soccer)
Sept. 12 – Tarence Roby (football) / Murphy Sears (golf)
Sept. 5 – Jack Bennett (soccer) / Lindsey Carley (soccer)

News and notes:

Hall of fame class of 2017 officially inducted: In conjunction with homecoming, the annual Concordia Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony took place last week. The group of 2017 inductees included Eunice Goldgrabe, Jason Jisa, Martin Strohschein, Stephanie (Beberniss) Tietjen and the 2001-02 men’s golf team. For more on the honorees, click HERE.

Baseball program makes use of latest hitting technology: The Bulldog baseball program recently had HitTrax installed inside the Hitting Center, an on-campus training facility. The new equipment allows head coach Ryan Dupic and his program to analyze unique sets of data points for each batted ball during cage sessions. For more details on this development, click HERE.

Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its third 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 2017-18 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 again calling volleyball action.

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

The monkey is off their back. The Bulldogs ended a series drought last week while upsetting seventh-ranked Doane, 29-18, as part of homecoming weekend on campus. The Concordia defense forced four turnovers and limited the Tigers to 234 total yards of offense on the way to its first win over its rival from Crete since 2005. First-year head coach Patrick Daberkow’s squad has already played three nationally-ranked opponents and now stands at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play. For more information on Bulldog football, click HERE.
While an 11-game series losing streak to Doane was snapped, Concordia continued its winning ways at home. It has won eight in a row when playing inside Bulldog Stadium. The string began with a blowout win over Briar Cliff at the end of the 2015 season. Concordia then proceeded to go a perfect 5-0 at home in 2016. So far this season, the Bulldogs have protected their home turf against Ottawa University and Doane. Another three home games remain on the slate.
The Bulldog defense did a number on quarterback Jack Shadley, who was fresh off being named the GPAC offensive player of the week after leading Doane to a wild comeback win over Dakota Wesleyan. At Bulldog Stadium, Shadley went 14-for-39 for 153 yards, no touchdown passes and three interceptions. Two of those picks ended up in the arms of safety D’Mauria Martin, who dashed the Tiger hopes with an interception in the closing minutes of the contest.
Concordia received a shot in the arm offensively thanks to the return of TJ Austin and Jared Garcia. The duo accounted for three of the team’s four touchdowns. Garcia caught his 30th career touchdown pass, making him one of five Bulldog players ever to reach the end zone at least 30 times. Garcia broke a school single-season record with 11 receiving touchdowns as a freshman in 2014. He then totaled eight touchdowns in 2015 and 10 in 2016.
Austin is transitioning into a new role as a running back. The 225-pound bruiser took snaps from the quarterback spot and as the tailback in the I-formation during the win over Doane. Austin found the end zone for his seventh and eighth career rushing touchdowns. Formerly a quarterback, Austin has thrown for 17 touchdown passes and 1,809 yards in his career. He totaled 49 rushing yards last week.
One of the stars of the defensive show was junior linebacker Kordell Glause. His interception in the second quarter set up an eight-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Perea to Jackson Hall. Glause also came up with a third-quarter sack that forced Doane to punt. One of only three returning starters on defense, Glause totaled six tackles and was also credited with a quarterback hurry.
Perea got the start at quarterback with Riley Wiltfong unable to go due to an injured ankle. Both players have seen extensive action as signal caller. They have combined to throw for 741 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions. Wiltfong, a native of Doniphan, Neb., is the more experienced of the two. Wiltfong has played in 15 career games and has thrown for 1,742 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also has 450 career rushing yards.
The performance against Doane gave the Concordia defense a big boost in regards to where it sits on the national leaderboards. Among all NAIA football programs, the Bulldogs now rank fifth in pass efficiency defense (98.6), 18th in scoring defense (21.8) and 28th in total defense (349.8). Concordia’s defense was not responsible for the majority of the points scored by Doane, which returned an interception for a touchdown, took another pick back to the Bulldog three-yard-line and was awarded two points on a safety that Concordia surrendered intentionally.
Another GPAC road challenge awaits this Saturday in Hastings. The Broncos (3-1, 0-1 GPAC) played a rare Sunday night game and were clipped by Dakota Wesleyan, 38-35. The Bulldogs have won each of the last two meetings with Hastings. Both of those matchups were played in Seward. Concordia has not traveled to Hastings since 2014. The Bulldogs went 2-1 against their Nebraska GPAC rivals in 2016.

Cross Country

Last week’s Dean White Invitational marked the second official meet for head coach Matt Beisel’s squads. In a field made up of mostly GPAC competitors, the Bulldogs placed third out of 10 on the women’s side and fifth out of nine on the men’s side. Two weeks earlier, the men finished second out of eight teams at the Dordt Classic while the women placed sixth out of seven squads at the same meet. For more information on Concordia cross country, click HERE.
The women put together a performance to build upon. The only teams to outrun them at the Dean White Invite, which was hosted in Crete by Doane, were nationally-ranked teams: No. 21 Hastings and No. 11 Dordt. Notably, Concordia beat out a 15th-ranked Morningside, which placed sixth at the meet, though several top Mustang runners traveled to a different meet. The men had hopes of placing higher than fifth at the Dean White Invite, but still managed to finish higher than GPAC rivals Midland (sixth), Hastings (eighth) and Mount Marty (ninth).
Senior Emily Deschaine is now 2-for-2 in regards to claiming top 10 finishes this season. She placed 10th (eighth when excluding alumni runners) at the Dordt Classic while finishing the 5k course in a time of 19:33.12. On a slower course, Deschaine ran it in 19:56.22, placing sixth at the Doane meet. Deschaine figures to continue to get closer to the form she showed at last year’s GPAC championships when she clocked a time of 18:20.96 and placed ninth in an all-conference performance.
While Deschaine has led the women at each of the first two meets, junior Thomas Taylor has edged out fellow junior Evan Asche for the team’s top spot on the men’s side. Like Deschaine, Taylor has also left the first two races with award earning finishes. Excluding alumni, Taylor finished 10th by running in a time of 27:05.50 in the 8k race at the Dordt Classic. Last week Taylor’s time came in at 28:16.40, allowing him to earn another 10th place finish.
The newcomers are making a significant impact for both teams. Two freshmen came in next after Deschaine on the women’s side: Alyssa Fye (20:51:03) and Everett Elder (21:10.26), both top 25 overall finishers. Sophomore Rebekah Hinrichs (21:11.00) was close behind while improving her time by more than a minute, as compared to what she ran on the same course as a freshman. Lydia Cook (21:36.39) and Miranda Rathjen (21:36.69) ran neck-and-neck for the fifth and sixth positions on the team.
Experience won out at the top for the Bulldog men. Junior Evan Asche placed 15th and clocked in at 28:38.06 and senior Pat Wortmann claimed 20th by finishing in 28:46.31. The team’s top five was rounded out by senior Kohlton Gabehart (29:28.82) and freshman Jordan Lorenz (29:31.52). Lorenz was one of nine freshmen to represent Concordia on the men’s side.
Beisel expects each of his runners to improve significantly as their training patterns begin to change. Said Beisel after the Dean White Invite, “One of the things I explained to my team the other day is we just finished the most physically and mentally challenging phase of our training season. We put a lot of hard work in that will result in us being much better as we move into the next weeks. We’re going to work the system of our bodies and different ways and they’re going to suddenly find that they’ve got legs and ability to push.”
The 2017 schedule is consistently made up of an on and the off again pattern. The Bulldogs will be idle this weekend as they look forward to their next meet on Saturday, Oct. 7 at the Briar Cliff University Invite. The race will take place at Adams Nature Preserve in North Sioux City, Iowa. Concordia has two more meets prior to the GPAC championships on Nov. 4.

Men’s Soccer

Another week passed without the Bulldogs enduring defeat. After a mid-week bye, Concordia competed in a neutral contest in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Sunday (Sept. 24) and came away with a comfortable 5-0 win over Dakota Wesleyan in the GPAC opener for both sides. The victory moved 10th-year head coach Jason Weides’ squad to 7-0-1 overall. No other team in program history has gone unbeaten through the first eight games of a season. For more information on Bulldog men’s soccer, click HERE.
The triumph over Dakota Wesleyan marked the team’s most dominant outing of the season in terms of goal differential. The five goals were also a season high for a squad that has outscored its opponents by a combined total of 22-6. Additionally, Concordia has recorded back-to-back shutouts and has not allowed a goal in more than 200 minutes of action. The Bulldogs have been the stingiest team in the GPAC in terms of goals allowed per game (0.75). Concordia ranks second in the conference in goals scored per game (2.75).
The Bulldogs stand as the only team in the GPAC without a blemish on their record. From a national perspective, Concordia is one of six NAIA men’s soccer programs without a loss. In terms of winning percentage (.938), the Bulldogs rank No. 4 nationally. The previous best eight-game start during Weides’ tenure occurred in 2011 when Concordia sat at 6-1-1. That squad finished 11-5-3 overall and placed fifth in the GPAC.
A go-to goal scorer has emerged in the form of Lewis Rathbone. The native of Manchester, England, has effectively knocked in 41 percent of the team’s goal total. He’s been on an impressive tear of late, recording seven goals over the past three games – all multiple goal efforts. He has at least one goal in four consecutive games and his nine goals for the season have already surpassed a career high. Rathbone ranks 12th nationally in goals.
Senior defender Florian Caraballo, a 2016 first team all-conference selection, also turned in a big effort. Not only did he help limit Dakota Wesleyan to three total shots (none on goal), he also assisted on three goals. Caraballo has started seven of eight games for a squad that has posted shutouts in half of its contests.
Goal scorers other than Rathbone against Dakota Wesleyan were Marcelo Hernandez (14’), Micah Lehenbauer (20’) and Toby Down (67’). Hernandez ranks second to Rathbone for the team goal scoring lead with five goals. Other Bulldogs with multiple goals this season include Down (3), Carlos Ferrer (2) and Lehenbauer (2).
Rathbone has been incredibly efficient on the attack. He has scored his nine goals on 16 shots placed on frame. His 16 shots on goal have come on 30 total shots, making for a shots on goal percentage of (.533). Many of the team’s attacking players also possess shots on goal percentages at or above 50: Ferrer (.579), Lehenbauer (.538), Hernandez (.526) and Down (.500). The team’s percentage stands at .486.
In order to carry an unbeaten record into the month of October, Concordia will have to protect its home turf this week. The Bulldogs will host Mount Marty (3-2, 0-0 GPAC) at 8 p.m. CT on Tuesday (Sept. 26) before welcoming Bellevue University (4-5-1) for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday (Sept. 30). The Bulldogs will attempt to avenge a 4-1 loss to the Bruins that occurred in 2016. This season, Concordia has already avenged three losses it suffered in 2016 (Graceland University, Waldorf University and Dakota Wesleyan).

Women’s Soccer

The conference season got started on a positive note with the Bulldogs claiming a 2-0 victory over Dakota Wesleyan in a game that took place at O’Gorman High School in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Sunday (Sept. 24). Concordia has recovered nicely after its two defeats came in succession during the week of Sept. 4. Since then, the Bulldogs have earned wins over Waldorf University and Dakota Wesleyan and drew with Kansas Wesleyan University. Fifth-year head coach Greg Henson’s squad owns an overall record of 5-2-2. For more information on Concordia women’s soccer, click HERE.
The Bulldogs are in the midst of an impressive run of success in GPAC play. Henson produced conference records of .500 or better in each of his first four seasons. Since the beginning of the 2014 campaign, Concordia has gone a combined 22-6-4 in GPAC regular season action. The Bulldogs entered this year having recorded exactly seven GPAC victories in each of the previous three seasons. The 2014 team went through the entire campaign without losing to a conference opponent. It went 7-0-3 during the regular season before winning the GPAC tournament title.
The Bulldogs put together their most dominant defensive performance of the season in the win over Dakota Wesleyan. The Tigers took only four shots, all of which were saved by goalkeeper Lindsey Carley, who registered her second shutout of the year. It was a good sign for a squad that ranks sixth in the GPAC in goals allowed per game (1.22). Solid team defense have been hallmarks of the program in recent years. Consider the team’s goals allowed per game figures and conference ranks for the previous three seasons: 2016 (0.91, 2nd), 2015 (0.76, 1st) and 2014 (0.86, 4th).
The race for team goal scoring leader remains a tight battle. Three Bulldogs share the lead with four apiece: Sami Birmingham, Maria Deeter and Kaitlyn Radebaugh. Deeter paces Concordia in points (13) thanks to a team best five assists. Birmingham has received plenty of attention from opponents after a first team all-conference freshman season that saw her find the back of the net 20 times. She has been the most active attacker again this season, taking 39 shots (21 on goal).
Lauren Martin and Jeannelle Condame both pulled within one goal of the team lead. Both scored once in the win over Dakota Wesleyan. Martin was credited with her second game winning goal (team high) of the season on Sunday. Martin has also assisted on four goals while playing an increased role this season. Martin is one of six Bulldogs to start each of the first nine games.
Carley has now played the last 200 minutes in goal after sharing the goalkeeping duties with Jessica Knedler during the early season run. Carley has gotten six starts and owns a goals against average of 0.86 and a saver percentage of .853. Concordia has gone 3-1-2 in the six games that Carley has started. She has played a total of 520 minutes.
Among GPAC teams, the Bulldogs rank second in goals scored per game (3.0), second in shots per game (20.0), first in shots on goal per game (12.44), fifth in saves per game (4.67) and sixth in goals allowed per game (1.22). Nationally, they rank 14th in shots on goal per game and 27th in shots per game.
Concordia will be back at home this week to welcome in Mount Marty (2-4, 0-1 GPAC) for a 5:30 p.m. CT kickoff on Tuesday (Sept. 26) and College of Saint Mary (4-5, 1-0 GPAC) in a game set for 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Bulldogs blanked both teams in 2016, earning a 12-0 win over the Lancers and a 4-0 victory over the Flames.

Golf

The Concordia men competed last week while the women were off from competition. At the Blue River Classic (Sept. 19-20) the Bulldogs co-hosted with Doane, the Concordia men placed eighth out of 17 teams at the two-day meet held at Wilderness Ridge Golf Club and Highlands Golf Course in Lincoln. After shooting a 335 on day one, the Bulldogs made a huge leap on the second day, turning in a 295. So far this season, seventh-year head coach Brett Muller’s squads have competed in a total of 11 rounds (six men, five women). For more information on Bulldog golf: MEN | WOMEN.
The 295 in the second round of the Blue River Classic represented the Concordia men’s second lowest score of the season. The Bulldogs have also carded rounds of 293, 299, 300, 314 and 335 for an average of 306. Concordia placed third out of 13 teams at the Siouxland Invite and fifth out of 15 squads at the Midland Fall Invite.
Last week Nolan Zikas claimed his second top 10 finish of the season and 10th of his career. The junior from La Vista, Neb., bounced back nicely after shooting an 81 on the first day of the Blue River Classic. He equaled a school record on the second day with a four-under-par 68. He placed eighth out of 108 players. Zikas owns a team best season 18-hole average of 74.0. His career average stands at 76.54 in 26 rounds.
Three additional Bulldogs shot 77 or better on the second day of the Blue River Classic, led by the 74 from senior Russell Otten, who shaved 13 strokes off his day one total. Concordia’s two through five positions at the Blue River Classic were manned by sophomore Tylar Samek (82-76–158; T-38th), Otten (87-74–161; T-52nd), freshman Kort Steele (85-77–162; T-58th) and senior Tyler Ehresman (88-80–168; T-73rd). Each player in the lineup carded a score at least six strokes better than their respective round one totals. Three others golfed as individuals for the Bulldogs: freshmen Jayden Neal (87-83–170) and Harrison Helmer (87-84–171) and junior Grant Suchanek (94-83–177). All three had nearly identical scores at Highlands.
Zikas is one of four Bulldogs with an average score below 80. Other sub-80 averages are owned by Samek (77.0), Otten (78.0) and Steele (78.3). Eight Bulldogs have golfed in all six rounds this season. Samek has one of the team’s additional top 10 tournament finishes. Zikas has carded Concordia’s top two rounds and four of the top nine.
The Bulldog women have been idle since shooting a two-round score of 376-389–765 at the Lila Frommelt Classic hosted by Briar Cliff. Sophomore Murphy Sears, an all-conference performer as a freshman, has paced Concordia during each round of play. Sears owns a team best season average of 87.6. Sears owns one top five finish in three events this season. Her best single round score was an 82 in the first round of the Lila Frommelt Classic.
This week it will be the women’s turn again to take the course. They will play at the College of Saint Mary Fall Shootout at Miracle Hill Golf Club in Omaha. The one-day event is set to begin at 10 a.m. CT on Sept. 27. The GPAC fall championships are coming up in October (Oct. 2-3 for the men and Oct. 9-10 for the women).

Volleyball

Concordia’s rigorous six-match stretch that put it up against each of the GPAC’s six nationally-ranked teams is finally over. The Bulldogs came up empty in all nine sets played last week, but narrowly dropped the first two sets while up against top-ranked Hastings on Sept. 20. Concordia also fell in road matches at No. 6 Dordt and No. 24 Morningside. Sixth-year head coach Scott Mattera’s squad entered the week with records of 5-11 overall and 0-6 in conference play. For more information on the Concordia volleyball program, click HERE.
According to Massey Ratings, the Bulldogs have played the eighth most difficult schedule in the nation to this point in the season. Among GPAC squads, only Doane’s strength of schedule ranks higher. Nine of Concordia’s 16 matches have come against teams that were either ranked or receiving votes at the time of the contest. With much of the GPAC grind still ahead, the Bulldogs are slated to play four more matches against top 25 foes.
Many times this season, freshman Tara Callahan has hinted at potential stardom. She accomplished a rare feat on Sept. 16 versus then No. 14 Northwestern when she recorded double figures in assists (33), kills (12) and digs (11). A versatile player, Callahan has been the team’s primary setter, but she can also play on the right side. She has averaged 8.8 assists per set and nearly one kill per set. She also has 33 blocks and 97 digs over 58 sets played.
Senior Annie Friesen put together one of her best matches so far this season when she powered down six kills on nine swings in the loss to undefeated Hastings. The middle from Wichita, Kan., has moved past 500 career kills. Friesen produced her best work as a sophomore when she slammed 313 kills and hit .374 for a team that advanced to the national tournament.
Mattera has put a lot of trust in freshman Marissa Hoerman as a back row compliment to senior Jocelyn Garcia. Hoerman rewarded that trust at Morningside with a career high 19 digs. It was the first time this season that she reached double figures in that category. Hoerman, who hails from Evergreen, Colo., has 95 digs over 54 sets played.
Sophomore Alex La Plant continues to be a reliable hitter on the outside. Last week she led the team in kills while putting up 22 over the three outings. She totaled seven kills against Hastings, seven at Dordt and eight more at Morningside. The team leader with 161 kills on the season, La Plant ranks 14th among GPAC players with an average of 2.8 kills per set. La Plant figures to be the next in line to eventually push for 1,000 career kills. She has collected 394 kills through the first 162 sets of her career.
The difficult run of matches to begin the conference season has played a part in the team’s low hitting percentage of .178 for the season (tied for ninth among GPAC squads). The program rose to prominence behind powerful hitters. The 2015 national tournament qualifier sported national rankings of 19th in kills per game (13.5) and 32nd in hitting percentage (.226). Last year’s team dipped to .206 (47th best among NAIA programs). Northwestern is the current conference leader with a hitting percentage of .328 (No. 3 in the nation).
This week presents the Bulldogs with two foes lacking a national ranking next to their names. Concordia will make a trip to Omaha and take on College of Saint Mary (7-7, 0-4 GPAC) at 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday in a battle between two sides seeking their first GPAC victory. Then on Saturday, the Bulldogs will host Briar Cliff (11-3, 2-3 GPAC). First serve from Walz Arena is set for 5 p.m. It’s a crucial week for Concordia, which will face a run of three top 25 teams to begin the month of October.