SEWARD, Neb. – Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Soccer will travel to the show-me state and look to take down William Woods University (Mo.) and Missouri Baptist University in the coming days. The Bulldogs will compete against the Owls on Thursday (Aug. 28) and the Spartans on Saturday. CUNE hosted Columbia College (Mo.) last weekend and dropped their first bout, 1-0, in the tight knit home opener.
This Week
Saturday, Aug. 28 at William Woods (0-1), 1 p.m.
Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: North Campus Athletic Complex (Fulton, Mo.)
Saturday, Aug. 30 at Missouri Baptist (0-1), 1 p.m.
Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Spartan Field (St. Louis, Mo.)
After the long wait, Concordia opened with Columbia College for its season opener. The Bulldogs came out to an onslaught that eventually ended with a Cougar goal (22’). The team rallied and fired off six shots total to Columbia’s 11. Six separate athletes kicked shots including Milo Hegarty, Hugo Garrote, Sam Hamilton, Kondwani Mtawali, Jasper Hofland and Sean Stratman. The Concordia back line limited Columbia to three shots on goal as goalkeeper Nolan Fuelberth grabbed one save after allowing the early notch. The stout final shield of the goal boasted Ryan Brown, Brody Haynie, Mattis Hollnagel, Mtawali, Stratman, Adrian Wambua and Mike Wyvill.
The Dawgs entered 17 total players and seven new additions (two transfers) in game one. The list includes the likes of Hegarty, Sam Hamilton, Haynie, Cleme Suarez, Jasper Hofland, Noah Rakowsky and Connor Robbins. The roster has 17 different players added after losing 14 from last year’s squad. Ten players saw action last season that returned for the year and includes a list of all-conference honorees Fuelberth, Stratman and Wyvill. Other notable returners are Oliver Benson, Brown, Garrote, Hollnagel, Slade Leicht, Kai Olbrich and Adrian Wambua.
Slade Leicht enters the lineup as a starter with a captain’s sleeve for the first time. Leicht, out of Sachse, Texas, started only seven games in 2024 but has now become the coach on the field of the 2025 squad. The senior midfielder will look to lead the program and be the voice across the field of a defense led philosophy. Along with Leicht, the back end is led by goalkeeper Fuelberth who started 17 games and grabbed 54 saves with a GPAC leading goals against average (0.87) and a save percentage of .783. Fuelberth, a Northern Illinois transfer, snagged five shutouts and has nine total in his career.
A program that only allowed 29 goals in 38 games the last two seasons has a proverbial lock on the defensive third. With a defense-first Head Coach Jason Weides, the back line and goalkeepers have tag teamed for a goals allowed average of 0.72 (2023) and 0.79 (2024). With only four losses in the time span, the Bulldogs will be able to continue the defensive success and be a wrecking for opposing attackers coming towards the Concordia net.
Concordia finished second in the regular season standings behind Morningside in a GPAC season that saw at least five teams with the possibility of winning the championship in the final week. It was a season of deadlocks as the home squad tied nine times on its way to an 8-3-9 record (6-0-4 GPAC) The Dawgs would defeat Briar Cliff (1-1) in a penalty kick shootout and Northwestern (3-2) in the semifinals. Hastings would finish Concordia’s season in the tournament final, just missing out on the national tournament.
William Woods
The Owls will have their home opener at the North Campus Athletic Complex, hosting the Bulldogs. They opened against Southwest Baptist University (Mo.), 4-2, a NCAA Division two squad. After finishing 11-3-6 last season and 6-0-2 in the American Midwest Conference, William Woods bowed out in the AMC semifinals against Columbia. The Owls are now in the Heart of America Conference for the first season. Head Coach Tommy Nienhaus joined the program in 2021 and is the Director of Soccer for WWU after last season. Miles Andrews and Alejo Marcaccini were named for the AMC All-Tournament team in 2024 and remain in the lineup for the program.
Missouri Baptist
The Spartans started 2025 with a match against Ottawa University on Tuesday (Aug. 26) but fell (2-1) in game one of the season. Keegan Ranney scored the lone goal and was assisted by Matthew O'Reilly. Missouri Baptist has both All-Americans move on from the roster but return all-conference award winners Emilio Hernandez and Craig Moore. Head Coach Jake Alvernia enters his 13th season as Head Coach of the men’s soccer program and finished in the AMC with a tournament title and a national playoff berth after defeating Columbia.
Next Week
Concordia will drive south and compete against Benedictine College then host Central Christian College (Kan.). The Bulldogs will be competing in Atchison, Kan., then return to Bulldog Stadium.
Wednesday, Sept. 3
7:30 p.m. – at Benedictine
Saturday, Sept. 6
12 p.m. – Central Christian