SEWARD, Neb. – With only two games left in the regular season, Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Soccer will host Dordt on Saturday (Oct. 25) in Bulldog Stadium. The Dawgs split their last two contests on the road, taking a loss in Fremont to Midland (3-0) and besting Dakota Wesleyan (2-1). CUNE is just below .500 (7-8) overall and 5-3 in the GPAC thus far.
This Week
Saturday, Oct. 25 vs. Dordt (4-5-6, 1-3-4 GPAC), 1 p.m.
Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Bulldog Stadium (Seward, Neb.)
Concordia got ahead early at the Pepsi-Cola Soccer Complex with a goal by Ricards Busmeisters (assisted by Connor Robbins) after a move to create space and fire. Hugo Garrote spun an in-swinging corner kick as Mike Wyvill finished in the back of the net. Centerback Niko Narieke made a game-saving clearance in the 90th minute as other defenders made big saves along the way. Goalie Chavarria would have to deal with 18 total shots (10 on target) with a consistent presence on the defensive end for Concordia. The Jaca, Spain, native grabbed his single-game high of nine saves.
In the first 72 minutes of the contest versus Midland, the two teams looked evenly matched. The Warriors’ forward Hugo Garcia-Rosado Duran opened up the floodgates with a score, and two more would build a 3-0 lead in the seven minutes of play. The Bulldogs would outshoot Midland on their home turf in the second half (9-7) and would finish just behind in total (19-17). Garrote paced Concordia with three shots, and the Warriors had a slight edge in corners (8-5). Both teams had seven shots on goal.
Going 3-1 in the last four-game stretch, the Bulldogs have scored 10 goals averaging 2.5 goals per game. Firing 14.0 shots per game, the offense continues to grow with a .518 shot on goal percentage and a .179 shot percentage. Kai Olbrich, Jasper Hofland and Oliver Benson scored multiple goals in the run with the rest coming from four different players; Busmeisters, Garrote, Wyvill and Milo Hegarty. The defense has only allowed five goals in the slate showing and 48 shots with a .104 shot percentage. Concordia has had a 30-22 corner kick advantage. Busmeisters (35), Garrote (26), Hofland (18), Benson (17), McCarroll (17), Hegarty (15) and Olbrich (12) each have double digit shots throughout the season.
On Sept. 21, 2024, the Bulldogs and Defenders met in Sioux Center and ended in a 1-1 draw. Dordt’s Jacob Narkis was awarded a penalty and put it away in the 23rd minute to get ahead early. Mike Wyvill scored off a D’Andre Williams set piece cross in the 35th minute. With the shots on goal being limited, the Bulldogs had a slight edge, 4-3, and a 15-10 total chances taken. One of the deepest defenses in the league was on display and boasted the likes of goalkeeper Nolan Fuelberth, Sean Stratman, Wyvill, Iker Casanova, Ryan Brown, Spencer Kaufman, and Michael Linberg.
With a newer deeper lineup, the team continues to improve throughout the season as the record has shown. Twenty players have entered double digit games with Garrote, Hegarty, Wyvill, Robbins and Slade Leicht in all 15 contests. The in-depth list includes Busmeisters, Hofland, Joe McCarroll, Benson, Olbrich, Karlo Rodriguez, Cleme Suarez, Nareike, Oliver Balazs, Mattis Hollnagel, Sam Hamilton, Adrian Wambua, Brody Haynie, Ryan Brown and Noah Rakowsky.
Northwestern (6-1-1) and Midland (6-1-1) are tied at the top of the standings with 19 points totaled each. Dakota Wesleyan (5-2-1) is just ahead of Concordia (5-3) with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Morningside and Hastings are deadlocked with the same record (3-2-2) and 11 total tallied. Briar Cliff (2-3-2) holds the seventh spot on the table with eight points with Dordt (1-3-4) and Doane (1-3-4) jockeying for the final GPAC playoff spot. Mount Marty (0-5-3) and Waldorf (0-7) remain at the bottom of the lineup.
In the newest NAIA RPI, the Bulldogs are rated 104th with a 0.498 RPI score. The Seward side has the 99th-ranked schedule in the rundown. The upcoming Defenders are slotted to 140th in the ratings and have earned the score with the 169th ranked strength of schedule. Midland has the conference’s highest rating at No. 23 and has the 81st strongest slate. Morningside (76), Hastings (87) and Northwestern (92) round out the top 100 for the GPAC.
Dordt
The Defenders come into the week with a 4-5-6 total record and a 1-3-4 showing in the conference. Dordt has tied in three of its last four games including Morningside (0-0), Briar Cliff (1-1) and Doane (2-2). The biggest win of the season came against then-ranked No. 11 Bellevue University (4-2) on Oct. 4. Similar to the Bulldogs, the Defenders have scored 23 goals in 2025, while allowing 19 total. Averaging 1.53 goals per game, they have shot 14.2 times a contest and a .108 shot percentage. The team high scoring leader Anton Forsch has notched five goals and three assists. Trigve Elkins and Marco Laenen are right behind Forsch with three goals apiece. Keeper Shad Jaeger has played the majority of the time between the posts with 1,060 minutes allowing 1.44 per game (17 total) and grabbed 39 saves at a .696 save percentage. He has two complete shutouts with a 3-4-5 record in goal.
Next Week
Concordia will host its last regular season contest versus Doane on Wednesday. The in-state conference rivals will take on the Bulldogs in Seward to settle the GPAC table.
Wednesday, Oct. 29
5:30 p.m. – vs Doane