ATCHISON, Kan. – The Bulldogs and Ravens clashed at Legacy Field on Wednesday (Sept. 3) with Benedictine College (Kan.) taking the upper hand (2-0) tonight. Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Soccer continued to fight until the end of the match with multiple corner kicks coming to nil on the scoreboard in the final minutes.
CUNE is searching for its first win of the year after starting 0-4 in the non-conference schedule.
“We are disappointed,” Head Coach Jason Weides said. “It is pretty rare that our program has been in this position. It was a pretty important moment at halftime for us to respond, and after the match, we felt like we did. Sometimes you can respond and not get the result you want. We can feel proud of our response, but the first goal never quite came. We are growing and learning tough lessons. I am confident of our team’s ability to have an uncommon response in this moment and continue to get better, and that is what we will do.”
Scoreless after the first 32 minutes, the Ravens’ Zachary Pedersen turned just inside the box and bent the go-ahead score in the near top corner. Looking to finish out the first frame, the Bulldogs made a bad pass, and with the goalie out of position, Benedictine scored three seconds before the half closed.
Back and forths were played between the two teams as they totaled 36 shots in the 90-minute bout. With the Ravens having a 2-0 lead, the Dawgs piled on four corner kicks starting in the 86th minute and couldn’t find the back of the net. Looking to be dangerous in the second 45, the great effort led to Concordia besting the home squad in total corners (9-8) and a slight edge in shots (9-8) in the second half.
The Bulldogs rained flurries of shots with 14 total as Benedictine shot 22. Oliver Benson (three), Mike Wyvill (two) and Mattis Hollnagel (two) paced the side in shots fired. Concordia keeper Nolan Fuelberth garnered nine saves of the 11 shots on goal.
Benedictine was led by Pedersen (three shots) and Juan Piratova’s (four shots) last second score on the offensive end. Four players had at least three shots, which also included Nicholas Rowe (four) and Kody Argaez. Hernan Burdiles filled a clean sheet and made four saves in the net for BC. The Ravens (3-0-1) will face Missouri Baptist University on Saturday.
Concordia (0-4) will celebrate eight seniors on Saturday in its home match versus Central Christian College (0-2-1). The Bulldogs will host the graduates at Bulldog Stadium and plan to kick off at 12 p.m. CT in Seward. CUNE defeated the Tigers (2-0) in the last meeting in 2012.