FREMONT, Neb. – The Concordia University Men’s Soccer team has plenty of experience now in these nip and tuck GPAC battles. In a fourth-straight conference game decided by a single goal, the Bulldogs prevailed at Midland, 3-2, on Wednesday (Sept. 28) evening. Twice Concordia pushed its advantage to two goals (2-0 and 3-1) before the host Warriors tightened things back up. Both teams went scoreless over the final 14 minutes as the Bulldogs saw out the road win.
Head Coach Jason Weides’ squad has moved to 8-2 overall and to 3-1 in the GPAC. Concordia effectively avenged its 1-0 loss last season to Midland (5-2-2, 1-2-1 GPAC), a fierce rival.
“Midland is a good team. There’s a reason why it was a competitive game,” Weides said. “We knew we were in for a battle. We were pretty solid overall in the first half. I thought we were in control of the game, defending well and limiting Midland’s quality possession. It was a bit of a tale of two halves. I thought we were the better team in the first half and they were the better team in the second half. Credit to Midland for coming to play. We’ve got to be a bit better once we have a two-goal lead. The last 15-20 minutes became about scrapping and fighting and doing the dirty work, and I think our guys did a good job of that.”
Chalk up another close one in the always competitive series with the Warriors. The Bulldogs got it done in the latest installment of the rivalry in part because of their ability to finish on the attacking end. The first and third goals came after set pieces while the second was beautifully executed within the run of play. Goal No. 3 was delivered by this past weekend’s hero, Ryan Wokutch, who was on the other end of a Carlos Orquiz free kick. Wokutch (12 career goals) wound up with another game-winner.
Lincoln Southwest High School product Matt Schultz had a hand in the first and second goals while being credited with an assist in each instance. His well-placed header off a corner kick enabled an attacking flurry in the box, resulting in Max Bisinger’s goal on the rebound. Later in the first half, Schultz played a ball through that led Jarod Henson into the box. He calmly slotted past the Warrior keeper.
It would have been foolish to expect this one to be easy though. Of the 21 times Weides has coached against Midland (10-8-3 record), 14 of those games have ended with ties, PK shootouts or one-goal decisions. The Warriors sprung to life early in the second half on Wednesday when Tomas Pereira scored off the assist from Alex Mee, making it a 2-1 game. Midland also got a PK goal in the 77th minute to initiate a tense closing stretch.
Overall, the Bulldogs were strong defensively in limiting the Warriors to four shots on goal. Keeper Gabriel Mendoza made two saves, including a difficult one when it was 2-1 in the second half. Mendoza is now 4-0 this season as a starting keeper. Both teams finished with exactly eight shots while 10 total yellow cards were issued. On another note, Concordia went 7-1 during the month of September.
Said Weides of the close calls in the GPAC, “It shows that we have to be really good throughout the long haul. Obviously we’ve had one stumble already, but we’re proving we have a good mentality and spirit in those moments. Tonight was another opportunity to showcase that.”
The Bulldogs now look forward to hosting Dakota Wesleyan (1-7-1, 0-3 GPAC) at 3:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. In his tenure leading Concordia, Weides owns a record of 9-5 versus the Tigers. The Bulldogs won handily, 5-1, in the 2021 matchup played in Mitchell, S.D.