OLATHE, Kan. – For the first time in Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Soccer history, the Bulldogs move on from round one of the NAIA national tournament after defeating Eastern Oregon University in penalty kicks (4-2) on Thursday (Nov. 20). The two sides were scoreless in the 110-minute defensive battle but Inigo Chavarria denied the unbeaten Mountaineers twice in the shootout. Ricards Busmeisters buried the game-winner to move on to the second round of the final dance.
Concordia (12-8-1) ties for the first time in 2025 but will face host No. 2 MidAmerica Nazarene University in less than 48 hours.
“It’s huge, you know,” Head Coach Jason Weides said. “It’s just a stepping stone for us. We have been fighting hard to do this for a while. Every program every year is kind of building on the back of the ones before you. These guys have worked hard. It has been a challenging but fun season. It’s just great to see it culminate in a tournament win.”
After regulation and both overtime periods, neither team could find the back of the net in the final third to force penalties to decide who would move to the next round.
In the 12-yard duel, Hugo Garrote and Mattis Hollnagel punched in back-to-back tallies but the Mounties responded with two of their own. Niko Nareike put the Bulldogs ahead in the race and Inigo Chavarria blocked out the third chance taken by EOU. After a Concordia miss, Chavarria stonewalled another kick to put the Dawgs one penalty away from going to the next stage.
Up walked the Riga, Latvia finisher, Busmeisters, as he took a deep breath and punched the winning ticket for his teammates as they ran to him in celebration of the final triumph.
“By the way they started them, we knew where they were going,” Chavarria said. “Everything is about getting into their minds. I was lucky and I could save it. All the team and the defense did a great job and I think they didn’t have many shots on target. We did a good job defending.”
The two teams had extremely close chances to end the match in overtime with both having four shots in extra time. Both were the best tries of the game and Oliver Benson owned the take for Concordia.
Chavarria clinched the shutout with two saves, his 5th of the season. The back line and midfield didn’t make it easy to get quality shots only firing two on frame in the 90 minutes. The team wall included the likes of Mike Wyvill, Adrian Wambua, Slade Leicht, Oliver Balazs, Sean Stratman, Joe McCarroll, Hollnagel and Garrote. The offense continued to press and counter-press continually throughout the game.
Garrote and Busmeisters were the only two with multiple shots as both defenses locked down their own halves.
Eastern Oregon finished with a 17-9 shot advantage after a nine-chance second half. The Mountaineers end their season unbeaten with a 13-0-6 record.
Concordia (12-8-1) will face off against the Olathe side MidAmerica Nazarene (13-2-5) on its home pitch at Pioneer Field. The two teams will take the field at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday with a trip to the NAIA National Championship final site on the line.