Though Concordia athletics ended the fall season in sixth place in the 2016-17 GPAC All-Sports Trophy standings, there were a number of moments sure to endure over time. Bulldog women’s soccer celebrated a GPAC tournament title, men’s soccer made another run to the conference championship game, football enjoyed its most successful season in 15 years and Emily Sievert displayed impressive toughness in reaching the national championships for the second-straight year. That’s not all. We run down the fall that was in this season wrap.
TOP MOMENT
Concordia women’s soccer wins second GPAC title in three years
Postseason magic is alive and well for Concordia women’s soccer. In front of a frenzied crowd that gathered at Bulldog Stadium on Nov. 10, head coach Greg Henson’s program celebrated its second GPAC tournament title in three seasons. It was a night to remember in an occasion that marked the first time the program had ever hosted the conference championship game. Behind the goal scoring exploits of freshmen Sami Birmingham and Rachael Bolin, Concordia avenged its GPAC tournament title game from a year earlier, defeating Morningside, 3-1.
Said Henson afterwards, “We had a great crowd tonight. Thanks to all the fans and students that showed up to support the girls today. We couldn’t ask for a better atmosphere to play soccer in. This is absolutely great. We rose to the occasion, especially in the second half. I’m really just proud of the girls today and all they’ve accomplished.”
Added Birmingham, “Going in I was really nervous and I didn’t know what to expect. Once we started playing and playing the game we know how to play, we took the lead. It was very exciting when the clock hit zero.”
The third-seeded Bulldogs knocked off Briar Cliff, 5-1, Midland, 1-0 in overtime, and Morningside during their GPAC postseason run. With a final record of 15-6-1, Concordia equaled the 2014 squad (15-3-4) for the most wins in a single season in school history.
Football lands top-20 national ranking
The eighth and final year of head coach Vance Winter’s tenure ended in style with the Bulldogs winning their final three games of the 2016 season. The Bulldogs wrapped it up with a come-from-behind, 31-28, home victory over Hastings to sew up the program’s first undefeated home season since 2000. With a 7-3 overall record (highest win percentage since 2001), Concordia found itself at No. 18 in the final regular-season NAIA national coaches’ poll released on Nov. 13. No Bulldog football team has completed a season with a national ranking since the 2001 co-GPAC championship squad did so under then head coach Courtney Meyer.
Following the season finale, Winter gave thanks for his senior class. “They committed to a program that hadn’t had a winning season since 2001,” Winter said. “They bought into everything about our program and everything about our school. I couldn’t be more proud of that group and what they’re about. They’re going to be incredibly successful people.”
Men’s soccer upsets Midland, reaches GPAC championship game
Prior to 2015, Concordia men’s soccer had never reached the GPAC tournament title game. Now the program has accomplished that feat two years in a row. While the Bulldogs fell short of defending their 2015 conference championship, the night of Nov. 8 won’t be forgotten by coaches and members of the 2016 squad. An underdog at No. 13 Midland in the GPAC semifinals, Concordia jumped out to a 3-0 lead and then held on for a 3-2 win in Fremont. That achievement was made even more impressive when the Warriors later advanced to the round of 16 at the national tournament.
The 2016 team experienced greater success than the 2015 one during the conference regular-season slate and earned the No. 3 seed in the GPAC tournament. The Bulldogs finished with an overall record of 11-7-2. Said junior Toby Down after the win at Midland, “It feels amazing. We set a goal at the beginning of the season to get back. We’ve done it. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We fought together and we talked about being together. We knew that was going to carry us through.”
Garcia breaks touchdown receptions record
Junior Jared Garcia is on track to break every major career school receiving record. This past season he took down the career touchdowns record held for 15 years by former All-American tight end Ross Wurdeman. With touchdown grab No. 25, which came during a blowout win over Briar Cliff on Oct. 8, 2016, Garcia moved past Wurdeman on the list. Garcia put together his best season yet in 2016, posting career highs for catches (55) and receiving yards (825) while coming up one touchdown shy of his own single-season record. Heading into 2017, Garcia (career numbers of 140 catches for 2,188 yards and 29 touchdowns) is hot on Wurdeman’s heels for the career receptions (168) and receiving yards (2,458) records.
Lind continues rewrite of record books
Goalkeeper Chrissy Lind already held most major Concordia women’s soccer goalkeeping records heading into her senior season. Thanks to a postseason run that extended her career, Lind clipped Ariel Harris for the most saves in school history. The record breaker came during the Bulldogs’ GPAC championship game victory over Morningside when Lind made 12 saves. She ended her career with 345 saves while adding to her list of goalkeeper records that already included: most games (79) and minutes played (6,956) and most shutouts (26). She also set a school single-season record with 10 shutouts in 2014.
Getz climbs to No. 3 on all-time kills list
Back on Aug. 26, senior outside hitter Paige Getz became the eighth player in the history of the Concordia volleyball program to reach 1,000 career kills. She was just getting started. The native of Paola, Kan., posted a career high 375 kills in 2016, pushing her career total to 1,331. That total ranks third highest in school history behind only Becky Ernstmeyer (1,740) and Katie Werner (1,600). Named as a second team all-conference selection in 2016, Getz surpassed assistant coach Rachel (Kirchner) Miller on the list. Getz recorded more than 300 kills every season during her collegiate career.
Sievert battles pain, earns bid to nationals
Despite being severely limited by a bone bruise in her over the final four weeks of the season, junior Emily Sievert placed inside the top 10 at the 2016 GPAC Cross Country Championships and advanced to the national meet for the second year in a row. Sievert showed considerable toughness and determination in putting forth a season best time of 18:20.96 at the conference championships held in Hastings. The native of Frankenmuth, Mich., paced the Bulldogs in all but one meet for head coach Matt Beisel’s squad.
Wiebe, men’s golf set new standards
Behind senior Reid Wiebe’s school record single-round score of 68 on day two of the Blue River Classic (Sept. 21), Concordia men’s golf also broke a team 18-hole record by carding a score of 288. In the event that the Bulldogs co-hosted with Doane, head coach Brett Muller’s squad placed second (305-288–593) out of 15 teams in an outing that highlighted the fall season. Sophomore Nolan Zikas carded a two-day score of 73-71–144, placing him second on the individual leaderboard. He collected GPAC player of the week accolades for that performance.
SEASON SUMMARIES
Men’s and Women’s Cross Country
2016 men’s GPAC finish: 6th
2016 women’s GPAC finish: 6th
Top performers:
--Pat Wortmann: placed 28th in the GPAC (26:42.80); paced Concordia at all but one meet.
--Emily Sievert: placed 9th in the GPAC (18.20.96); finished 195th at the NAIA national championships (19:28.88).
Season highlights: The first season of Matt Beisel’s head coaching tenure was about establishing a base for future success. Nearly every individual on the men’s and women’s rosters set personal bests throughout the fall. The Concordia women turned in a fifth-place claim out of 25 teams that competed at the Seminole Valley Stampede on Oct. 22. Both squads finished exactly where they were ranked heading into the GPAC championships: sixth. From an individual perspective, no Bulldog shined on a more consistent basis than Emily Sievert, who qualified for nationals for the second-straight year. Beisel will have the bulk of his key runners back in 2017. Only two seniors were among the top 10 for either the men or women that ran at the GPAC meet.
GPAC all-conference: Emily Sievert (9th)
Coach Beisel: As a new coach who inherited a team of returning athletes and new recruits, I had no preconceptions coming in. I had spent a good deal of time talking with all the athletes on the phone during the summer and had a basic picture of them, but I had to get on the ground and work with them a while to find out their capabilities. I also did not know the level of strength of the conference teams, and it took the season to get a handle on our relative strength. Now that we are done, having built very positive relationships with the young men and women in my care, I am very pleased with how things turned out.
With only very few exceptions, all the athletes (including new freshmen) increased their all-time performances from their previous years. Anytime you see a majority of your kids improving in this way, you know something good is happening. As they gained confidence in me, in their training, and in my coaching philosophy, you could see them begin to take risks that resulted in some great performances.
I am proud of anyone who works hard and who buys into the team concept. These runners have grit in spades. I’m proud of the whole bunch, and honored that I got to work with them.
We are all particularly interested in how our progress in cross country will set us up for success in track. There was a certain amount of elation as the season ended up with great performances, and already talk has begun about what this could mean for conference and national performances in indoor and outdoor track. I will be meeting with all of them individually to evaluate the season and fine tune our indoor and outdoor goals based on what we now know about the recent cross country season.
I think next year in cross country we’ll see a breakout in our conference standings. We’ll see glimmers of it this spring, but a year from now – with almost all of the distance crew returning in the fall – we’re going to be at a much higher level. Our recruiting class seems to be shaping up already as a very strong class with a nice pack of experienced and talented distance runners, so that should also give us a boost.
Football
2016 record: 7-3 overall; 5-3 GPAC (4th)
Top performers:
--Trey Barnes: 68 tackles, 22 tfl’s, 9 sacks, 2 ff, td
--Bryce Collins: 201 att, 881 yards, 4.4 avg, 8 td
--Jared Garcia: 55 catches, 825 yards, 10 td
--Michael Hedlund: 107 tackles, 4 tfl’s, 3 int’s, 2 ff
Season highlights: The 2016 team accomplished many things that had not been done since the early 2000s. The Bulldogs finished with their highest win percentage and with a national ranking for the first time since 2001. They also polished off an undefeated home season for the first time since 2000. It was a good way for Vance Winter to finish his eight-year tenure as head coach. During the 2016 ride, Concordia defeated Nebraska rivals Midland and Hastings. Prior to that, it began the year with three-straight wins and jumped up as high as No. 16 in the national poll. The Bulldogs had many standout individuals contribute to the success. Trey Barnes racked up nine sacks on the year and scooped up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown in his final collegiate game. Linebacker Michael Hedlund notched 100 tackles for the second-straight year. Offensively, Jared Garcia became the program’s new career touchdown receptions record holder and Bryce Collins eclipsed 3,500 rushing yards and rose to No. 2 on the school’s all-time rushing list. Meanwhile, Winter (41-44) concluded his time at Concordia ranked fourth among the program’s nine all-time head coaches in terms of overall victories.
GPAC all-conference:
Vance Winter (coach of the year)
Trey Barnes (first team)
Jared Garcia (first team)
Michael Hedlund (first team)
D’Mauria Martin (first team)
Tarence Roby (first team KR; second team DB)
Bryce Collins (second team)
Cory Evans (second team)
Le’Dontrae Gooden (second team)
Ron Jackson (second team)
Grady Koch (honorable mention)
Matt Romero (honorable mention)
Nolan Schroeder (honorable mention)
Erik Small (honorable mention)
Coach Winter: We had a great group of guys – coaching staff and players. I was really proud of how we stuck together through a lot of adversity and injuries to finish strong. The league overall, from top to bottom, is as strong and as solid as I’ve ever seen. There were no gimme games. I think the character of our senior class was pretty evident in how we finished. We had bigger goals of being a playoff team, but I was really proud of how we finished. One of the goals was to finish the year ranked. I think that’s a great momentum boost for the guys that are coming back.
Men’s and Women’s Golf
Men’s GPAC standing: 3rd (300)
Women’s GPAC standing: 9th (386)
Top performers:
--Reid Wiebe: 75.56 average; two top-10 finishes; school record 68 at Blue River Classic; currently eighth in the GPAC (74).
--Amy Ahlers: 82.39 average; ninth career tournament title; currently sixth in the GPAC (83).
Fall highlights: The performance of the Concordia men at the Blue River Classic provided the most thrills during the fall season for head coach Brett Muller’s golf programs. At the two-day tournament (Sept. 20-21), the Bulldogs shot 305-288–593 for a second-place finish. The score of 288 on day two broke the school 18-hole record that had been set the previous season. That score was made possible by senior Reid Wiebe’s program record individual total of 68. Then men also carded a solid 300 during the only conference round of the fall. While the women went through some fall struggles, senior Amy Ahlers has continued to make her mark as the top women’s golfer in school history. She collected her ninth career tournament win, taking first at the College of Saint Mary/Midland Fall Invitational (Sept. 27-28).
Coach Muller:
MEN
Overall, for the fall season I believe we performed close to our expectations. The team finished the fall with a 303 scoring average, which is seven shots lower than we finished in 2015-16. Two notable tournaments were the Blue River Classic and the GPAC Fall Tournament. On day two of the Blue River Classic on our home course at Highlands the team broke the school record shooting an even par 288. Reid also broke the school record on this day shooting four-under-par 68. Our team performance at the Fall GPAC proved to our guys that we don’t need to play perfect to compete for a GPAC championship. We have a very solid top four, all of whom are capable of shooting under par. Shooting a 300 and being seven shots back in the GPAC with 54 holes remaining is a great position to be in. For the spring season, our goal is to win the GPAC. We know we still need to improve and put in the extra time to achieve our goal.
WOMEN
The fall season didn’t go as well as we planned. Emma (Jacoby) being unable to compete due to injury really effected the consistency in our team scores. We played three freshmen in our top five in every event except one. Amy had another solid fall season. She won her ninth career tournament and placed in the top 10 in every event she played in. Currently, we are ninth in the GPAC and I am confident we can improve our standing in the conference. Our goals for the spring are to continue to improve and consistently lower our team scores.
Men’s Soccer
2016 record: 11-7-2 overall; 6-3 GPAC (3rd); GPAC tournament runner up
Top performers:
Florian Caraballo: 1 assist, 20 games (20 starts)
Marcelo Hernandez: 8 goals, 4 assists, 17 games (17 starts)
Micah Lehenbauer: 8 goals, 3 assists, 20 games (20 starts)
Season highlights: A year after winning the GPAC tournament title, the Bulldogs proved they were no fluke. They won six of nine conference regular-season games and earned the league’s No. 3 seed in the conference tournament, allowing Concordia to host a conference tournament game for the first time since 2001. The biggest singular highlight from a team perspective with a 3-2 upset of No. 13 Midland in Fremont in the GPAC semifinals. That victory pushed the Bulldogs into the GPAC championship game for the second-straight year. After significant personnel losses to the backline after 2015, Weides did a solid job of revamping the roster. The Bulldogs allowed only one goal over the season’s first five games. In the GPAC quarterfinal at Bulldog Stadium, Lewis Rathbone scored both Concordia goals in the 2-1 come-from-behind win over Northwestern. Senior Mark Horsburgh enjoyed another solid season at goalkeeper. He finished his career with 202 saves and 14 shutouts in 49 games played.
GPAC all-conference:
Florian Caraballo (first team)
Marcelo Hernandez (first team)
Micah Lehenbauer (second team)
Toby Down (honorable mention)
Carlos Ferrer (honorable mention)
Aries Fung (honorable mention)
Mark Horsburgh (honorable mention)
Lewis Rathbone (honorable mention)
Coach Weides: In some ways it met expectations and in some ways we fell short of expectations this season. After graduating 13 seniors in 2015 that included many impact players, most people would consider 2016 a rebuilding year, but we didn’t. We still set lofty goals and were able to achieve many of them. Finishing in the top three in the GPAC is a good accomplishment considering our conference continues to get better. The GPAC has become one of the stronger conferences in the nation. Returning to the GPAC final back-to-back years is another success to celebrate. We also had some good wins against top 25 teams. Despite many successes we are disappointed knowing we missed a few opportunities throughout the year to rewrite the record books at Concordia and fell just one game short of our goal to get back to nationals. This season will set us up for success in 2017 and beyond. We will learn from any mistakes and capitalize on opportunities for growth. The guys continue to elevate the bar each year. They have helped create a championship culture that is fun to be a part of each day. I know our guys are hungry for more in 2017 and are willing to work together to achieve more next fall.
Women’s Soccer
2016 record: 15-6-1 overall; 7-3 GPAC (3rd); GPAC tournament champion
Top performers:
--Sami Birmingham: 20 goals, 10 assists, 22 games (21 starts)
--Maria Deeter: 7 goals, 5 assists, 21 games (21 starts)
--Chrissy Lind: .972 gaa, .839 save %, 6 shutouts, 22 games (21 starts)
Season highlights: It doesn’t get much better than winning the GPAC tournament, something the program has now achieved twice in the past three years. While hosting the conference championship game for the first time in program history, the Bulldogs defeated Morningside, 3-1. On its way to the title game, Concordia defeated Briar Cliff, 5-1 and Midland, 1-0, in overtime. The victory over Midland avenged one of the Bulldogs’ three conference regular-season losses and abruptly put an end to the Warrior season. The win over Morningside pushed Concordia’s win streak to eight, which is the longest in school history. Such victories were made possible by the likes of goalkeeper Chrissy Lind, who also became the school’s career saves leader in 2016. Once again, Maria Deeter starred in the midfield and freshmen Sami Birmingham and Rachael Bolin emerged as major threats up top. Birmingham’s 20 goals were the second most ever by a Concordia freshman.
GPAC all-conference:
Sami Birmingham (first team)
Maria Deeter (first team)
Rachael Bolin (second team)
Jeannelle Condame (second team)
Chrissy Lind (second team)
Ashley Martin (second team)
Jessica Skerston (honorable mention)
Esther Soenksen (honorable mention)
Coach Henson: It’s been tremendous. All the accolades go to the players. They’ve done such a great job. It doesn’t matter what a coach says or does if the players don’t buy in, and they’ve bought in. They put the work in to get us to the national tournament. At a practice one of the players jokingly said, ‘Thanks for taking us to Miami.’ I said, ‘You guys are taking me.’ That’s what I really feel like. It’s their journey. It’s their path. I’m guiding the ship, but it’s their hard work that gets it done.
The senior class has been tremendous. For me it’s going to take a little bit to sink in. I don’t know Concordia without the senior class – Jordan McCoy, Megan Brunssen, Chrissy Lind and Kristin Manley. They just continued to do what they’ve done throughout their careers. They just worked hard and did all of the little things that we asked them to do. I couldn’t be more proud of them. They’ve been with me every step of the way. I know they’re going to have tremendous careers and futures in whatever’s next in their lives.
November is what we build ourselves for. This year was very similar to 2014 in that we stayed fairly healthy throughout the year. The last practice before the conference tournament started we had everybody on the practice field. That plays a huge part in it. Then it’s just the focus and the desire and having a group of ladies that understand what our goals are. They worked hard to achieve those. I couldn’t be more proud of the players on this team, currently and over the last four years. We’ve built something strong.
Volleyball
2016 record: 15-19 overall; 6-10 GPAC (7th)
Top performers:
--Jocelyn Garcia: 1,347 digs (5.17/set), 31 aces, .928 serve receive % (116 sets)
--Paige Getz: 1,331 kills (3.18/set), .216 hitting % (118 sets)
--Alayna Kavanaugh: 1,099 assists (10.18/set), 84 kills, 152 digs, 19 aces (108 sets)
Season highlights: After a tough 1-6 start, Concordia went on a run of nine wins over its next 10 matches. Included in that stretch was a four-set victory over Missouri Valley College, which finished with a record of 29-9. On senior day on Oct. 29, a quartet of seniors had big days in a five-set win over Dakota Wesleyan. In that match, Alayna Kavanaugh (76 assists), Tiegen Skains (26 kills) and Paige Getz (24 kills) all put up career high numbers. Kavanaugh was then named the NAIA national setter of the week. Among individual highlights, Getz finished her career at No. 3 on the school’s all-time kills list (1,331) and Kavanaugh set a new modern rally-era standard for career assists (4,485).
GPAC all-conference:
Paige Getz (second team)
Alayna Kavanaugh (second team)
Jocelyn Garcia (honorable mention)
Tiegen Skains (honorable mention)
Coach Mattera: There’s no doubt that the on-court results didn’t live up to our own lofty expectations that we had going into the season. It was a season of “almosts” on the court and a season of valuable life lessons off it. Night in and night out, we proved that even shorthanded, we could play with anyone in the country as we took games from the best teams out there. We just couldn’t get over the hump and get that big win that would break the dam.
This senior class will be remembered for years to come as their four years marked the emergence of CUNE volleyball as a force to reckoned with not only in the GPAC, but nationally as well. Alayna rewrote the record books for modern era setting and Paige earned her place amongst the all-time great outsides in Bulldog History. I’m so proud of all of them and know that they will be proud Bulldogs for life.
We have already begun to implement the lessons we were forced to learn this year and even though we graduate so much, expectations are as high as ever in our locker room. A lot of younger girls gained valuable experience through all of our lineup shuffles. Couple that with the recruiting class coming in and with us adding some key pieces coming back from injury, it’s not crazy to say that the depth of the program is as good as it’s been since I’ve been here. We have big plans for the spring and we are honestly chomping at the bit to get going right now. We are all hungry to put in the work on and off the court to make 2017 a special year.