MARSHALL, Mo. – It wasn’t hard to find positives in the aftermath of a 2-1 road loss to fifth-ranked Missouri Valley College on Saturday (March 27) afternoon in Marshall, Mo. While up against their highest rated opponent of the season and a bit shorthanded, the Bulldogs played the host Vikings to a 1-1 stalemate until an 85th minute goal from Kainan Dos Santos. One of the NAIA’s most prolific attacking teams managed to see out the one-goal advantage.
This was something for Head Coach Jason Weides’ squad to build upon. Concordia (9-5-2) looked like a better team than the one that dropped a 2-0 decision at Benedictine College (Kan.) a week earlier.
“The team did well against a top team but came up just short,” Weides said. “It was a game that we needed to be organized and defend well because MVC is very good in possession. We really did that well and limited their quality chances in the run of play. Our attacking play wasn't as pretty today, but credit to MVC who made it tough on us to build and possess as we normally would.”
Hopes of an upset were alive and well in the 70th minute when Isaiah Shaddick buried a strike from roughly 12 yards out into the back of the net. Shaddick’s fifth goal of the season was set up by Matt Schultz. At that point, the pressure was on Missouri Valley (12-3-1), which was stonewalled by a highlight reel worthy save from Federico Simonetti with the score still knotted, 1-1.
Dos Santos actually scored the winning goal while lying on the ground in what was a potentially hazardous scramble situation in the box. The Bulldogs were unable to muster a shot over the final five minutes. An 89th minute shot by the Vikings was spurned by Simonetti, who finished with six saves.
Attacking opportunities were limited for Concordia, which had four shots (two on goal) in the entire 90 minutes. Meanwhile, Missouri Valley registered 17 shots (eight on goal). A scoreless draw held up until Miroslav Markovic found the back of the net in the 52nd minute. The Vikings entered the weekend averaging 3.0 goals per game.
The Bulldogs are scheduled to play one more regular season game before the GPAC tournament quarterfinals take place on April 10. Concordia will host Midland (3-9-1, 3-7-1 GPAC) in a nonconference matchup at 3 p.m. CT on Friday, April 2.