SEWARD, Neb. – Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Soccer is in its final week of regular season play hosting in-state rival Doane for the last contest of the scheduled slate. The Bulldogs defeated Dordt (2-0) on Saturday and have won four of their last five matches. CUNE has reached .500 (8-8) overall and 6-3 in conference play.
This Week
Wednesday, Oct. 29 vs. Doane (2-9-4, 1-4-4 GPAC), 5:30 p.m.
Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Bulldog Stadium (Seward, Neb.)
Inigo Chavarria clamped down the Defender offense in their five shots on goal and 14 shots total. Concordia was able to take advantage of its 12 shots putting two in the back of the net in the second half. Mattis Hollnagel pushed a pass up the field and with a slight touch from Karlo Rodriguez, Jasper Hofland moved past the keeper and sent the goal in between the posts just after the break. Freshman midfielder Oliver Balazs delivered a strike off a ball that bounced out after the initial Dordt keeper save. The Bulldogs shot 12 chances and Cleme Suarez (four) and Hofland (three) took the majority. Concordia took a slight corner advantage in the contest, 7-6.
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 16 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.
Chavarria has risen to the top of the GPAC leaderboard for goalkeepers. The Jaca, Spain native has a conference-best .842 save percentage and averages 0.81 goals allowed per game. With eight games played, he has allowed six goals total in 668 minutes played. He has two shutouts (one complete) and a 5-2 record on the season. A Harding University transfer, the senior has 38 saves and including back-to-back grabs in his outing versus the Defenders.
Scoring nine goals in the last four games, the Bulldogs have picked it up a notch in the offensive end to total 25 total scores. Ricards Busmeisters leads with six goals and 12 points on the roster. Kai Olbrich and Jasper Hofland have four goals apiece as Joe McCarroll, Hugo Garrote and Oliver Benson all have three dishes each. The goals per game continue to get higher reaching a 1.56 per contest after a slow start with a big turnover from the roster.
Northwestern (7-1-1) defeated Midland (6-2-1) to take the top of the standings with 22 points. Concordia (6-3) is just ahead of Morningside (5-2-2) after the win with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Dakota Wesleyan (5-3-1) keeps the race for second tight with 16 points and Hastings (4-2-3) is right behind with 15 total tallied. Briar Cliff (3-4-2) holds the seventh spot on the table with 11 points with Dordt (1-4-4) and Doane (1-4-4) jockeying for the final GPAC playoff spot. Mount Marty (1-5-4) and Waldorf (0-9) remain at the bottom of the lineup.
In the newest NAIA RPI, the Bulldogs are rated 95th with a 0.505 RPI score. The Seward side has the 96th-ranked schedule in the rundown. The upcoming Defenders are slotted to 157th in the ratings and have earned the score with the 129th-ranked strength of schedule. Midland has the conference’s highest rating at No. 29 and has the 69th strongest slate. Northwestern (56), Morningside (82) and Hastings (86) round out the top 100 for the GPAC.
Doane
The Tigers are 2-9-4 overall and 1-4-4 in conference play going 0-4-2 in October thus far. Mateo Jelicich paces the Crete side with five goals on 48 shots (23 SOG). With 15 scores in 15 contests, the Tigers hurl a .087 shot percentage and .503 shots on goal. With 11.5 shots every 90 minutes, they have amassed 60 corner kicks and assisted on 12 of the goals. Kai Goodman and Nicolas Jones have notched three assists apiece. Goalkeeper Curtis Oberg has played 1,235 minutes between the posts and allowed 32 goals with a 2.33 goals-against average. Oberg has 82 saves and a .719 save percentage including one complete shutout.
Up Next
The Bulldogs have already clinched a playoff host spot but will look to strengthen their position with a win over the Tigers. The GPAC tournament picture is unclear, but it will come into focus after Wednesday night’s matches in the conference. Concordia is currently the No. 3 seed in the upcoming bracket, but could change pending upcoming results.