SEWARD, Neb. – The GPAC playoff started off like the wild west with the No. 1 and 2 seeds falling in the quarterfinals and three of the four games needing extra time to finish. The No. 3 seed Bulldogs needed an overtime golden goal to finish past No. 6 Hastings (1-0) in their conference opening round. Now the highest seed remaining, Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Soccer will host No. 7 Briar Cliff on Friday.
Next Match
GPAC Semifinals: Friday, Nov. 7 vs. Briar Cliff (8-7-3, 4-4-2 GPAC), 6 p.m.
--Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Bulldog Stadium (Seward, Neb.)
--Admission: $10 for adults/senior citizens, $3 for K-12; only those with NAIA passes and GPAC student ID’s are admitted free of charge.
The Bulldogs have won the tournament two times under Head Coach Jason Weides (2015, 2022) and will make their 16th GPAC tournament appearance (18 total) under the 18-year front man. Concordia will look to make the final for the sixth time in the program’s history. Last year, the No. 2 seed Bulldogs were upset (1-0) by No. 5 Hastings in the GPAC final. With a mixed bag of experience and newcomers, Concordia will rely on the steady feet of Adrian Wambua, Hugo Garrote, Mike Wyvill, Slade Leicht, Oliver Benson and Mattis Hollnagel.
Hugo Garrote. That’s the name. Going into the 94th minute, the Spaniard sent a banger into the top near corner that left the opposing Broncos in awe and Bulldog nation screaming in instant triumph. Inigo Chavarria and the defense combined for a four-save shutout – his fourth of the season. The back line of Adrian Wambua, Mike Wyvill, Mattis Hollnagel and Slade Leicht kept the elite goal scorer Tim Berger and Hastings to zero in the net. In regulation, the Concordia offense gained momentum with each passing minute in the second half, outshooting the visitors 8-5 (13-9 total). With six corners in the last frame, the Bulldogs relied on quality chances from Garrote, Cleme Suarez and Ricards Busmeisters.
Starting 0-4 on the season and the first eight games 2-6, the first half of the season looking bleak might have been an understatement for Coach Weides’ worst start as head of the program. Yet with half the roster turning over, the old and the new began to gel and have rallied for a 8-2 showing in the last 10. On a four-match win streak, the Bulldogs have won six of their last seven, including victories over Hastings (3-1), Waldorf (5-0), Dakota Wesleyan (2-1), Dordt (2-0), Doane (3-2) and Hastings (1-0). With one of its early mantras being uncommon, Concordia has truly shown a championship mentality in response to the early falters.
Hofland has started to show his mind for goals having scored his four of his season’s five in the last six games. The Blue Mountain Christian transfer has one game winning goal. The Bulldogs are 5-0 when Hofland scores for the side. In his 15 games played, he has 22 shots with a .227 shot percentage and .500 on goal. He has 10 total points in his initial campaign with the Dawgs.
Chavarria is the current GPAC Defensive Player of the Week after three stellar performances versus Dakota Wesleyan, Dordt and Hastings. The Jaca, Spain native collected five saves and a shutout against the Defenders to earn his first conference honor. The senior transfer has a 7-2 record in his 10 games played with four clean sheets. In 852 minutes, Chavarria leads the conference in goals allowed (eight) and save percentage (.840). He is second in goals allowed average (0.84).
On Sept. 27, 2025, it was the beginning of the turnaround for the Bulldogs as the Seward side came into the game 2-6. The difference tally came as the minutes started to fade in the opening frame. Oliver Balazs rocketed a ball off his foot splitting two defenders and the opposing keeper made a blocking save. Oliver Benson sprinted to the ball for the game-winning header and his first notch of the season. It was an offensive game in terms of chances as Concordia shot 24 times compared to the Chargers 16. Goalkeeper Nolan Fuelberth took a shutout with six saves.
In the newest NAIA RPI released on Monday (Nov. 3), the Bulldogs are rated 86th with a 0.515 RPI score. The Seward side has the 109th-ranked schedule in the rundown. The upcoming Briar Cliff are slotted to 95th in the ratings and have earned the score with the 102nd-ranked strength of schedule. Midland has the conference’s highest rating at No. 32 and has the 62th strongest slate. Northwestern (63) and Morningside (73) round out the top 100 for the GPAC.
The opponent
The Chargers earned the No. 7 seed and have an 8-7-3 overall record. With their quarterfinal match versus No. 2 Midland, the Chargers got down 2-0 via Hugo Garcia-Rosado Duran’s first half scores in the 22nd and 34th minute. With the Warriors gaining a red card in the first half, Briar Cliff took advantage after the break and scored three unanswered by David Sauter, David Utsi-Grinde and Alejandro Illan, taking a comeback road upset. The team has scored 37 goals while allowing 26. Illan is third in the conference in goals scored (14) and assists (six) totaling 34 points overall (2nd in GPAC). Gabriel Hernandez Les paces the GPAC with 10 assists. Goalie Xabier Ilundain has played 1,239 minutes with a 4-4-1 record. He has allowed 20 goals with 1.45 goals allowed and five combined shutouts. With .810 save percentage (second in GPAC), he has 85 total grabs.
Quarterfinals – Saturday, Nov. 1
(8) Mount Marty def. (1) Northwestern, 0-0 (PK's 5-4)
(4) Morningside def. (5) Dakota Wesleyan, 3-2 (OT)
(3) Concordia def. (6) Hastings, 1-0 (OT)
(7) Briar Cliff def. (2) Midland, 3-2
Semifinals – Friday, Nov. 7
(8) Mount Marty vs. (4) Morningside, 7 p.m.
(3) Concordia vs. (7) Briar Cliff, 2 p.m.
Championship – Wednesday, Nov. 11
Highest remaining seed hosts, time TBA