Bulldog Weekly Report (Sept. 27, 2016)

By Jacob Knabel on Sep. 27, 2016 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Athlete of the Week

Marcelo Hernandez, Soccer

Hernandez, a native of Quito, Ecuador, broke loose with a pair of goals as Concordia opened the conference season last week with a 2-1 overtime win over Northwestern. Hernandez came through with the golden goal in the 92nd minute of play, bumping the Bulldogs’ overall season record to 4-1-2.

News and notes:

Berg, Dobernecker win Home Run Derby titles at second annual event: Senior Casey Berg and alum NiCole Dobernecker took home trophies after winning efforts at the second annual Home Run Derby hosted by the Concordia baseball program. Contestants who participated on Sept. 23 received 10 swings for $10. After a preliminary round, the top point producers advanced to a final round. Dobernecker defended her title from 2015. Casey’s older brother Bryce, now head coach Ryan Dupic’s assistant, won the 2015 derby on the men’s side.

Women’s tennis falls in first official match of 2016-17: The Concordia women’s tennis team played its first official match of 2016-17 on Sept. 23 and was handed a 9-0 defeat while up against NCAA Division II Fort Hays State University (Kan.). Head coach Joel Reckewey’s singles lineup included Annie Horn, Anna Kenney, Katie Hertz, Kayla Smock, Alison Ebel and Kirsten Wagner.

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.

Golf

  • It was a big week for the Concordia University men’s golf program, which broke two significant school records at the Blue River Classic (Sept. 20-21), an event the Bulldogs co-hosted with Doane. Concordia shot a two-round total of 305-288–593 and placed second behind only Southeast Community College. Head coach Brett Muller’s squad defeated every single GPAC squad in the tournament. Meanwhile, the women’s team has been idle since competing at the Lila Frommelt Invite (Sept. 16-17). For more information on Bulldog golf: MEN | WOMEN.
  • Concordia took full advantage of hosting round two of the Blue River Classic at its home course, Highlands Golf Course in Lincoln. Its team score of 288 broke the school record for lowest single-round total. The previous record was a 291 carded at the Briar Cliff Mini-Tour Stop on April 19, 2016. The Bulldog men’s golf team has now turned in three rounds below 300 this fall, including scores of 295 and 294 during a solid performance at the Siouxland Invitational (Sept. 8-9). Concordia’s current season average of 300.2 would shatter another program record should it hold up through this coming spring.
  • Individually, senior Reid Wiebe broke a school record he already held by shooting a four-under-par 68 in round two of the Blue River Invite. That score was one stroke better than the previous program single-round standard of 69. Both Wiebe and Nolan Zikas turned in a 69 last season. With his big day two effort, Wiebe vaulted to fifth place on the overall leaderboard. It was Wiebe’s first top-five finish of the season and sixth since the beginning of the 2015-16 campaign.
  • Though Wiebe stole the show in round two, Zikas put forth a more consistent 36-hole effort. His two-round total of 73-71–144 placed him second overall and just a single stroke behind tournament champion Noah Hoffman of Southeast CC. It marked Zikas’ fifth career top-five tournament placement. He came up just short of capturing a third career tournament win. Zikas, who averaged a 77.1 last season, sports a season 18-hole average of 75.2.
  • Over his first six collegiate rounds, freshman Tylar Samek has been remarkably consistent. His scores have each fallen in a range between 72 and 77. Last week he shot a 74-75–149 finished in a tie for eighth place at the Blue River Classic. His season average of 75.0 ranks just in front of Zikas (75.2) and Wiebe (75.3) for best on the team. Samek also placed 10th at the season-opening Mount Marty Fall Invite.
  • Ten different Bulldogs competed at the Blue River Classic. Following Zikas, Wiebe and Samek on the first grouping were senior Jared Knoepfel (79-79–158) and junior Russell Otten (85-74–159). Nine of the 10 shot an equal or lower score on day two in comparison to day one of the tournament. Five Bulldogs improved by nine or more strokes, including Court Croghan and Alec Hanson, both of whom cut 12 strokes off their day one rounds.
  • So far the Concordia women have competed at two separate two-day events. Through four rounds of action, senior Amy Ahlers, a three-time all-conference performer, leads the Bulldogs with a season average of 83.8 and a pair of top-10 tournament finishes. Freshman Murphy Sears sports a season average of 85.0. She placed ninth at the Mount Marty Fall Invite.
  • The women return to action this week with another two-day event, this one being the Midland/College of Saint Mary Invite, held Tuesday and Wednesday (Sept. 27-28). Day one action will take place at Fremont Country Club before shifting to Miracle Hill Golf Center in Omaha, Neb. Tee time is set for 10 a.m. both days. Both golf programs will then look forward to the GPAC fall tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D., Oct. 3-4.

Men’s Soccer

  • Five days after a 2-2 draw at Nebraska Wesleyan on Sept. 19, the Bulldogs kicked off the conference season with a 2-1 overtime home victory over Northwestern. Concordia responded well after allowing an 86th-minute equalizing goal. Less than a minute-and-a-half into overtime, Marcelo Hernandez surfaced with the golden goal. Ninth-year head coach Jason Weides’ squad is now 4-1-2 overall. For more information on Concordia men’s soccer, click HERE.
  • The unbeaten run against conference opponents lives on for Weides’ program, which is now 5-0-2 over its last seven games against GPAC rivals. That stretch includes last season’s GPAC tournament run that culminated with a 1-0 upset win at then No. 19 Hastings in the conference championship game. Over the seven-game streak, Concordia has outscored its foes by a combined total of 17-4. Each game has been tightly contested except for a 10-1 blowout of Mount Marty on Oct. 31, 2015.
  • The most impressive aspect of the Bulldogs’ recent success versus conference teams has been their ability to shut down opposing attacks. Concordia nearly recorded a clean sheet for the fourth-straight outing against a GPAC opponent until Northwestern’s goal late in regulation. That snapped a string of more than 382-straight minutes without surrendering a goal to a conference opponent.
  • Defense has been a calling card for this year’s Bulldogs, who are tied for 11th among all NAIA soccer squads in terms of fewest goals allowed per game (0.57). Concordia let in just a single goal through its first five games has shut out four of its first seven opponents. Last week the Bulldogs effectively limited opportunities for the Red Raiders, who managed a grand total of six shots – three on goal.
  • It was a breakout performance for Hernandez in the GPAC-opening win. Though he found the back of the net just once over his first five games as a Bulldog, the native of Quito, Ecudor, is expected to provide offensive firepower up top. He got loose versus Northwestern with a goal in both the 62nd and 92nd minutes. That latter goal ended the contest abruptly as Hernandez tucked the ball just inside the left post. Hernandez is in his first season of action as a Bulldog since transferring from Evergreen Valley College.
  • Concordia is off to a solid start despite the lack a dominant goal scorer. Six different Bulldogs have combined for the team’s 11 goals on the year. Three players have tallied multiple goals: Hernandez (3), Micah Lehenbauer (3) and Carlos Ferrer (2). Three others have recorded one apiece: Tyler Jensen, Andrew Mussell and Lewis Rathbone.
  • Overtime games have become commonplace for Concordia, which has played in three of them already this season. It has gone 1-0-2 in such contests. Dating back to 2014, the Bulldogs have lost only one of their last 12 games that have gone to overtime. In those instances, Concordia has a combined record of 2-1-9. Included in those nine draws was a shootout tournament advancement over Midland in last year’s GPAC semifinals in Fremont. The only loss also occurred in a GPAC semifinal – a 2-1 heartbreaker at No. 11 Hastings in 2014.
  • Weides’ squad will be tested this week with a pair of GPAC road trips. In a rematch of the 2015 GPAC championship game, the Bulldogs will travel to play No. 5 Hastings (9-0, 1-0 GPAC) at 7:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday. They will then head to Sioux City, Iowa, on Saturday and take on Morningside (6-1-1, 0-1 GPAC) at 8 p.m. CT. Concordia and Hastings have met each other each of the last two years in GPAC postseason play.

Cross Country

  • The second outing of the season for head coach Matt Beisel’s programs came at the Dean White Invitational hosted by Doane on Sept. 24. Concordia placed second out of six teams on the men’s side and third amongst seven squads on the women’s side. Those were the exact same placements the Bulldogs turned in a week earlier at the Bronco Stampede hosted by Hastings. After having 23 runners participate in Hastings, 24 competed in Crete. For more on Bulldog cross country, click HERE.
  • The Concordia men traveled 13 competitors to Doane. Their finishes for the first two meets of the season are listed below. Patrick Wortmann and Kohlton Gabehart have both placed inside the top 10 at the first two meets. Times were slower at the Doane course compared to the Hastings course.
    • Patrick Wortmann – 27:11.67 (4th) – 27:54.89 (6th)
    • Kohlton Gabehart – 27:13.09 (5th) – 28:02.63 (9th)
    • Thomas Taylor – 27:47.12 (11th) – 28:39.15 (14th)
    • Chris Shelton – 28:00.88 (13th) – 28:49.86 (15th)
    • Evan Asche – 28:03.40 (14th) – 28:31.17 (12th)
    • Cameron Moes – 28:48.25 (17th) – 30:59.62 (34th)
    • Josiah McAllister – 29:23.70 (23rd) – 30:09.52 (25th)
    • Robbie Peterson – 30:53.21 (33rd) – 33:02.47 (50th)
    • Nathan Matters – 31:48.77 (41st) – 33:30.19 (51st)
    • Samuel Ferguson – 31:50.10 (42nd) – 32:16.66 (44th)
    • Chris Warneke – 32:56.31 (47th) – 34:55.78 (57th)
    • Christian Egger – 34:17.84 (53rd) – 33:47.76 (54th)
    • Isaac Golke – 37:41.63 (56th) – 39:11.76 (62nd)
  • The Bulldog women had a total of 11 runners at Doane. Their finishes for this season’s first two races are listed below. Emily Sievert and Taylor Grove have served as the team’s frontrunners at both races. Emily Wetzel turned in a personal best at the Dean White Invite.
    • Emily Sievert – 19:11.88 (3rd) – 20:25.49 (8th)
    • Taylor Grove – 20:00.59 (9th) – 20:32.09 (9th)
    • Marti Vlasin – 20:16.92 (11th) – 21:16.72 (15th)
    • Abby Protzman – 20:29.63 (13th) – 21:28.19 (18th)
    • Rebekah Hinrichs – 20:44.16 (16th) – 22:10.00 (27th)
    • Jacy Johnston – 20:47.48 (17th) – 21:38.82 (20th)
    • Erin Lindeman – 21:50.88 (29th) – 21:55.51 (22nd)
    • Miranda Rathjen – 22:39.80 (36th) – 23:11.36 (32nd)
    • Paige Borcherding – 22:58.25 (43rd) – 24:11.43 (42nd)
    • Emily Writebol – 23:23.16 (45th) – 24:26.57 (45th)
    • Emily Wetzel – 24:09.51 (54th) – 23:26.02 (36th)
    • Liliana Barrientos – 27:21.86 (57th)
  • At the Dean White Invite, the men totaled 44 points and finished ahead of Hastings (third), York College (fourth), Briar Cliff (fifth) and Southeast Community College (sixth). Meanwhile, the women finished with 61 points and beat out College of Saint Mary (fourth), a Doane alumni team (fifth), Peru State College (sixth) and Southeast Community College (seventh).
  • Both squads have this weekend off. Their next meet will be the Briar Cliff University Invite in Sioux City, Iowa, on Oct. 8. The first race is set to get started at 10 a.m. CT. The final outing before the GPAC Championships (Nov. 5) will be the Seminole Valley Stampede hosted by Mount Mercy University (Iowa) on Oct. 22.

Football

  • Ranked 16th heading into last week’s matchup with No. 5 Doane, Concordia had hoped to knock off the rival Tigers for the first time since 2005. Instead, four interceptions and an inability to finish drives plagued the Bulldogs in their 27-7 loss in Crete. Concordia dropped its meeting with Doane for the 11th-straight time despite an advantage of 404-309 in total yards. The loss was the first of the season for eighth-year head coach Vance Winter’s squad, which now sits at 3-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play. For more information on Concordia football, click HERE.
  • The Bulldogs came within an eyelash of winning in the previous two meetings with Doane. In both instances, Concordia fell by 23-20 scores. The 2015 contest in Seward was decided in overtime. In the 2014 matchup in Crete, the Bulldogs led 20-0 after Bryce Collins galloped for a 67-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Concordia also dropped a 9-7 nailbiter to Doane in 2007. That game was ultimately decided when Bulldog kicker Michael Saalfeld missed on a potential game-winning field goal from 50 yards out in the final seconds.
  • Senior running back Bryce Collins grinded out 90 yards on 23 carries at Doane. That total pushed him to 2,984 career rushing yards. With 16 more yards, Collins would become the third player in program history to reach the 3,000-yard barrier, joining Cleve Wester (3,658) and Gary Seevers (3,128). Collins now ranks third on the school’s career rushing list after passing Alex Alvarez (2,959) last week. Collins, who also caught three passes for 25 yards at Doane, has also eclipsed 4,000 career all-purpose yards. A dangerous pass catcher out of the backfield, the native of Boerne, Texas, has 74 receptions and 727 receiving yards over 34 career games to his credit.
  • Junior Jared Garcia accounted for Concordia’s lone touchdown at Doane when he hauled in a 15-yard toss from Riley Wiltfong in the second quarter. It marked Garcia’s fourth touchdown of the season and the 23rd of his career. With one more touchdown grab, Garcia will pull even with Concordia Athletic Hall of Fame tight end Ross Wurdeman for the most career touchdown catches by a Bulldog. This season Garcia has hauled in 20 passes for 311 yards, equating to career high averages of 5.0 receptions and 77.8 yards per game.
  • While the four interceptions thrown by Concordia quarterbacks proved critical, the Bulldogs were able to connect on some big plays in the passing game. In addition to Garcia having a solid day, Trae Owens’ afternoon included catches that covered 37 yards on two separate instances, Cameron Christiansen had a 43-yard reception and Deshawn Eure snagged a 61-yard grab. Wiltfong and TJ Austin combined to throw for 322 yards.
  • Safety Le’Dontrae Gooden got on the board with his first interception of 2016. His pick ended a Doane drive in the red zone in the second quarter. Cory Evans also came up with an interception a week after his pick sealed the 9-7 victory over Northwestern. Gooden made 10 tackles at Doane and now has 36 on the year.
  • Though Doane struck first with a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown, senior Trey Barnes again performed well at punter. Of his 25 punts this season, nine have pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line and five have traveled 50 or more yards. The Seward High School product currently ranks 21st among all NAIA punters in punting average (39.7). Barnes is also Concordia’s team leader in sacks with three.
  • The Bulldog defense did a commendable job holding down a Doane team that entered last week’s contest averaging 43.0 points per game. Tiger quarterback Jack Shadley went just 6-for-17 while throwing two interceptions. Doane’s most reliable offensive weapon was running back Nate Meier, who totaled 121 rushing yards on 26 carries. Among all NAIA teams, Concordia ranks eighth in scoring defense (16.0), ninth in total defense (285.5), 14th in pass efficiency defense (102.2),16th in fewest passing yards allowed per game (164.3) and 21st in rush defense (121.3).
  • The Bulldogs now face another significant challenge with a trip to second-ranked Morningside (2-1, 1-0 GPAC) coming up on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CT from Elwood Olsen Stadium in Sioux City, Iowa. The Mustangs are coming off a 35-21 loss to NCAA Division III third-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Morningside owns an active streak of 10-straight GPAC victories.

Women’s Soccer

  • It was a light week for the Bulldogs, who had a midweek bye before hosting Northwestern on Sept. 24 in the conference opener for both teams. Concordia’s goal-scoring drought in its series with the Red Raiders continued. Northwestern got a 31st-minute goal from Alissa Christoffer and emerged from Bulldog Stadium with a 1-0 win. The loss drops fourth-year head coach Greg Henson’s squad to 5-3-1 overall. For more information on Bulldog women’s soccer, click HERE.
  • Dating back to the end of the 2015 season, Concordia had won seven-straight home games. That stretch included two wins over GPAC opponents last season in addition to five nonconference victories in 2016. Coming into last week’s action, the Bulldogs had outscored their opponents by a combined total of 19-2 over five home contests. Under Henson, Concordia is 27-9-1 at home.
  • The loss to Northwestern marked only the second time this season that the Bulldogs have been shut out. Concordia has not cracked the scoreboard against the Red Raiders since a 2-1 loss at Northwestern in 2011. The Bulldogs had scored at least one goal in seven-straight games against conference opponents prior to last week. Concordia entered the game averaging 2.75 goals per contest.
  • Despite the conference-opening loss, the last few seasons would indicate that the Bulldogs have the potential to be one of top teams in the GPAC. Since Henson arrived in 2013, Concordia has a cumulative conference record of 17-10-5 and is the only team in the GPAC to have played in each of the last two conference tournament championship games. The Bulldogs have advanced to at least the conference semifinals every year under Henson’s direction. The 2014 team was the first to ever reach the national tournament.
  • Concordia came into last week with four players who ranked inside the top 10 of the GPAC in terms of most goals scored. The Bulldogs can still boast four of the top 12 goal scorers in the conference. Sami Birmingham is tied for sixth on the list with her team high six goals. Three Bulldogs rank in a tie for 12th with four goals each: Rachael Bolin, Maria Deeter and Esther Soenksen.
  • Freshmen (Birmingham and Bolin) have accounted for 10 of Concordia’s 22 goals this season. During Henson’s tenure, the most goals produced by a freshman was 17 from Jessica Skerston in 2014. During the Bulldogs’ GPAC tournament championship season, Skerston totaled eight game-winning goals. A second team all-conference choice in 2015, Deeter recorded six goals over her rookie campaign.
  • On conference leaderboards, Concordia ranks first in goals allowed per game (1.0), third in shots per game (18.2), fourth in shots on goal per game (9.2) and fourth in goals scored per game (2.4).
  • Perhaps the most challenging week of the season lies ahead for the Bulldogs who have road trips ahead against the two teams picked Nos. 1 and 2 in the GPAC preseason coaches’ poll. Concordia will play at No. 12 Hastings (7-1-1, 1-0 GPAC) at 5:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday and then at Morningside (3-5, 1-1 GPAC) at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday. The Bulldogs have enjoyed recent success versus the Broncos having knocked them out of the GPAC tournament two-straight years. On the other hand, the Mustangs got the better of Concordia in the 2015 GPAC championship game.

Volleyball

  • Last week marked the beginning of a brutal 10-match stretch that features nine dates with teams that are either ranked or receiving votes in the latest NAIA national coaches’ poll. Concordia fell twice more to ranked teams, dropping a five-set decision at No. 17 Doane on Sept. 21 and then a straight-sets home contest versus No. 9 Dordt on Sept. 24. Fifth-year head coach Scott Mattera’s squad had won nine of its previous 10 matches prior to last week’s defeats. Concordia now sits at 10-9 overall and 2-3 in conference play. For more information on the Bulldog volleyball program, click HERE.
  • After dropping from the top 25 rankings with the release of the Sept. 6 poll, Concordia nearly jumped back in the ratings last week. The Bulldogs were listed second among “others receiving votes.” Concordia appeared at No. 20 in the preseason poll, marking the 12th-straight top-25 appearance for the program. It rose as high as No. 15 during last year’s run that included a national tournament berth. The Bulldogs are one of seven GPAC teams that are either ranked or receiving votes.
  • The injury bug has bitten hard lately for Concordia. The Bulldogs were already without middle Annie Friesen, a first team all-conference choice in 2015. Friesen is sidelined for the season after suffering a knee injury on Aug. 23 versus Peru State College. Senior setter Alayna Kavanaugh and freshman middle Emmie Noyd were also forced out of the lineup by injury in last week’s loss to Dordt. In place of Kavanaugh, freshman Emma Brand made her first career start and dished out 17 assists. Down two middles, Mattera at times used Paige Getz, Jenna Habegger and Tiegen Skains to fill the void.
  • Before being sidelined Kavanaugh surpassed 4,000 career assists. She added 39 last week in the loss at Doane. Among all NAIA players, she ranks 14th in total assists (668) and 15th in assists per game (10.6). Kavanaugh is likely just the second player in program history to reach 4,000 career assists. The program record for assists is held by Stacy Stuckenschmidt, who piled up 4,949 assists from 1992-95. Stuckenschmidt posted three seasons with more than 1,000 assists. Kavanaugh is on track to do the same.
  • Concordia’s offensive attack was held to hitting percentages of .163 at Doane and -.010 versus Dordt last week. However, Skains turned in a solid individual effort at Doane, going for 13 kills on 24 swings (.417 hitting percentage). The native of Colorado Springs is enjoying the most productive season of her career. Her figures of 2.7 kills per game and .222 hitting percentage rank as career bests. She’s now up to 716 career kills.
  • The Bulldogs remain in search of their first win of the season over a ranked opponent. They have missed out on their first six opportunities, including four versus teams that sported top-10 rankings at the time of the match. Based on the most recent poll, Concordia will have seven more chances to knock off ranked foes. Last season the Bulldogs were 6-4 against top 25 opponents.
  • Habegger and Mikayla Higgins both saw their most extended action of the season over the weekend. Habegger chipped in three kills on five swings while Higgins collected two kills on six attempts. A sophomore from Pawnee City, Neb., Habegger’s career high for kills was 11 in last year’s matchup with Benedictine College (Kan.). Higgins totaled a career best nine kills in last season’s national tournament loss to Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.).
  • The GPAC grind continues this week, beginning with a trip to play No. 4 Hastings (13-2, 4-1 GPAC) at 7:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday. Concordia will return to Walz Arena to host Briar Cliff (7-7, 1-4 GPAC) at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday. The Broncos, who own a six-match win streak, have defeated five ranked opponents this season.