SEWARD, Neb. – The Dawgs will get the midweek off before taking on Briar Cliff in the second game of conference play. Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Soccer defeated York University (3-1) and dropped its first GPAC match to Northwestern (2-1). CUNE has a 2-6 overall record and a 0-1 GPAC schedule.
This Week
Saturday, Sept. 27 vs. Briar Cliff (3-3-1, 0-0-1 GPAC), 1 p.m.
Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Bulldog Stadium (Seward, Neb.)
Hugo Garrote ignited the Bulldogs with a first half set piece tally versus the in-state Panthers last Wednesday. Oliver Balazs kicked in his first goal as a Bulldog and Ricards Busmeisters put the cherry on top at the end of the second period. The three goal-performance brought confidence to the Bulldogs as the team made quality shots with six of eight on target. The game was played 10-10 after the 72nd minute due to both teams having been issued a red card. Nolan Fuelberth earned the win with seven saves in the 90 minutes played.
After a scoreless first half, the Red Raiders scored in the 47th minute via Jannes Keuhn and once more in the 70th (Drew Darnold). As time began to fade, Kai Olbrich gave life to the visitors with a goal via Joe McCarroll. Concordia couldn’t find the final touch, as both teams were starved by opposing defenses for quality shots with three on goal by each side. Northwestern had 22 fouls to the Bulldogs’ 11. The Red Raiders bested CUNE in shots, 16-9, and in corner kicks, 7-2. Keeper Nolan Fuelberth grabbed one save with only seeing three shots with a chance.
Averaging 1.50 goals given up per game, the Concordia defense ranks fourth in the category with the third most total saves (40). Inigo Chavarria has the highest rated save percentage at .789 (three games) and is third in goal allowed average (1.38). Fuelberth sits with 23 saves (fourth in GPAC) and has a .742 save percentage. The offense has averaged 10.8 shots per contest and a .360 shot on goal percentage.
In 2022, Dordt got the better of the Bulldogs in a 4-3 win in Sioux Center. Since that time, Concordia has been unbeaten in regular season conference play, going 20-0-10. The current juniors in the program have yet to see a regular season conference loss until the Red Raider loss on Saturday. The two full seasons saw no defeats with a 7-0-4 record in 2023 and a 6-0-4 showing in 2024 for scheduled GPAC play.
The last time Concordia and Briar Cliff faced off was the 2024 GPAC tournament quarterfinal. Former Bulldog Fedi Hagen scored the lone goal for the good guys and after 110 minutes the game remained deadlocked at one. Ferdi Hagen, Martin Herrera, Iker Casanova, Sean Stratman and Spencer Kaufman made their PK’s to send the Bulldogs to the next round. Two Briar Cliff players missed in the standoff and gave room for the home squad to seal the win as Kaufman buried the final shot in the bottom right corner for Concordia.
In the first NAIA RPI ratings, the Bulldogs are set at 153rd with a 0.425 RPI. Concordia has been rated at 127th in strength of schedule. Briar Cliff has earned a rating of 87th and a schedule slated at 91st. Midland is rated 19th, as the highest in the conference and a 62nd schedule strength. Bellevue University (37), Morningside (71), Hastings (78) and Northwestern (96) are all in the top 100 of teams the Bulldogs have played or will play in 2025.
Briar Cliff
The Chargers are 3-3-1 overall and tied in their conference opener versus Doane (2-2). BCU defeated McPherson College (Kan.), 2-0, and Central Christian College (Kan.), 4-2, to open the season. Briar Cliff’s biggest win came against Governors State University (Ill.), 1-0. The Chargers will face Morningside before taking on the Bulldogs. Tying in goals scored and allowed (12), Briar Cliff is led in scoring by Alejandro Illan with eight in the back of the net (1st in GPAC) and 15 total points. Gabriel Hernandez Les has posted a team high three assists (T-1st in GPAC) as the side has 13 total. Averaging two goals a game, BCU fires 10.2 shots per game with a .197 shot percentage and a .508 shot on goal percentage. Goalkeeper Xabier Ilundain has the majority of the minutes (360) between the posts and has allowed seven goals with a 1.75 average. He has 18 saves on a .720 save percentage.
Next Week
Concordia will host Mount Marty and travel to Sioux City and face Morningside in the following contest. The Bulldogs will be in Seward versus the Lancers and take the field at Elwood Olsen Stadium for the Mustangs' homecoming.
Wednesday, Oct. 1
5 p.m. – vs. Mount Marty
Saturday, Oct. 4
5:30 p.m. – at Morningside