Bernie Ochoa offered his former teammate Jason Weides a sarcastic, but good-natured ‘thank you’ at an athletic department game management meeting that took place soon after Ochoa took the reins of the Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Soccer program. The exchange was part of a discussion surrounding Ochoa’s first spring scrimmage as head coach. It would come against an NCAA Division I opponent.
It wasn’t mentioned at the time, but Ochoa had also inherited a fall 2026 regular season schedule that would include matchups with the 2024 NAIA national runner up and the 2025 NAIA national champion and just a single home nonconference game. Nearly two decades deep into his tenure as the men’s program’s head coach, Weides believed the Bulldogs were ready for it.
He just didn’t expect to dump that type of slate into the lap of Ochoa. It meant no soft landing and nowhere to hide as the program ushered in a new era.
“Obviously, we had a slow start, but that's understandable with a first-year head coach, a program adjusting to changes and new guys coming in,” Ochoa said. “The biggest thing has been the buy-in from the players. They've believed in the process and understood that it was going to take time. They've continued to improve every day and recognized that every guy on the team is equally important to our success.”
The vibes that pulsated throughout the team felt much different on Oct. 17 than the emotions felt on Aug. 22. Less than two months after a winless season opening trip to Oklahoma that concluded with a 5-0 loss at Mid-America Christian, members of the Concordia posed for photos at the merciful end to a 15-0 stomping of Waldorf. The victory meant that the Bulldogs had clinched the first GPAC regular season title in program history.
Now the Director of Soccer Operations and Head Women’s Soccer Coach, Weides felt like a proud papa who had overseen the program grow into an adult. In what turned out be his final season as men’s head coach, Weides guided Concordia to its first ever advancement to the second round of the 2025 NAIA National Championships. In 2026, the Bulldogs are breaking new ground once again.
“I feel like a proud dad because this program feels like a family to me,” Weides said. “I'm grateful to God, to Concordia, and all those who supported this team during the journey. It's fun to see things coming together in the way we all envisioned they could.
“The players did a great job of adjusting to a new coach, and Bernie did a great job of adapting throughout the season to put themselves in this position. As much as I'm excited about the now, I'm excited for the future too.”
The storylines run deeper than the reunification of Ochoa and Weides, Concordia teammates in the early 2000s. Not only did the Bulldogs weather a grueling early season slate, they moved on without their 2025 leading goal scorer, welcomed in 12 new players and made strategic tactical adjustments on the fly. To be fair, the talent remained at a high level, and Concordia received the nod as the GPAC preseason favorite, as chosen by league coaches.
But not every preseason favorite is able to walk the walk. Ochoa’s Bulldogs have done so, and in dominant fashion. Concordia has blazed through league play with an unblemished 9-0 mark while outscoring its GPAC opponents by a combined total of 41-6.
On Oct. 17, Ochoa allowed his team a chance to bask in the moment, soaking in a mild evening in Forest City, Iowa. For an exclamation point, the Bulldogs found the back of the net 15 times, equaling a program record for a single match.
Says junior center back Sean Stratman, “I think it means a lot to win the GPAC for the first time in program history, especially for the upperclassmen and guys that have been here a long time and put so much into this program. After the Waldorf game, the emotion in the locker room was something that I have never been a part of in my entire life. Those are moments that I will never forget for the rest of my life.”
A healthy season for the Omaha native Stratman (someone please knock on wood) has made a difference for a Concordia team that has proven adept at both scoring goals and preventing them. Stratman will be a strong candidate for GPAC All-Conference honors along with many of his teammates, including veterans such as midfielder Hugo Garrote and defender Mike Wyvill. Other regulars in the starting 11 during conference play have included goalkeeper Florian Quast, as well as Elijah Fulton, Joe McCarroll, Lucas Montino, Sebastian Montino, Kai Olbrich, Niko Nareike and Danilo Nikolic.
While the Bulldogs rank second among GPAC teams in goals against average (1.33), their offensive surge has made them a bugger to play against. Ochoa has emphasized a high line and intense pressuring of the opposition. The players have responded with precision and execution in the attacking third.
Ochoa explained the evolution following his side’s 4-1 win over archrival Hastings on Oct. 14, “There were some growing pains, but that's expected. At the end of the day, we've been able to put the right pieces together. We've realized that most teams aren't that good at building out of the back, so we decided to become more of a high-pressing team. At the beginning, we weren't, but that's what we've become. We've been a really good high-pressing team, pressing together as a unit. It's cutting the field shorter, and we're winning a lot of those one-on-one battles, which allows us to create opportunities early.”
The tactical adjustments have worked. Concordia is averaging 4.56 goals per game within conference play and ranks 19th nationally in overall goals per game (3.20). The 2026 team has more than doubled its goal scoring output from last year (1.55/game) behind breakout star Joe McCarroll, who has produced eight goals in conference play. McCarroll and company (48 goals scored) are approaching the school record for goals in a single season – 53 by the 1979 team coached by Dr. Jack Kinworthy.
Says the senior Olbrich, a Bennington High School product, “We played some really good defensive teams in non-conference, so credit to them for giving us a hard time. But I think that with a new coach and lots of new players, it isn't surprising that we needed some time to settle in and figure out our system and rhythm in the attack. We have been pretty clinical in front of goal this entire season, but are creating a lot more chances now, which has led to the increase in goals.”
Added Ochoa, “We've had different starting lineups and tactical structures, with guys stepping in, understanding their roles and contributing. Overall, it's been a great success and a great opportunity, especially in a first year, because things can sometimes go the other way. I'm definitely proud of the guys and their accomplishments, but we also understand there's still a lot to play for.”
With the GPAC regular season title secured, the Bulldogs want to continue to strengthen their national tournament résumé. The GPAC’s only auto bid to the national tournament is awarded to the conference tournament champion. Ochoa aspires to put his team in the best possible position for an at-large berth, should it come up short of seizing the GPAC postseason banner.
Regardless of the results moving forward, year one of Ochoa’s head coaching tenure will go down as a resounding success. Concordia has already shown it can respond to challenges or moments of turbulence. Ochoa and the players believe in one another.
“The coaching styles between Coach Bernie and Coach Jason are different,” explained Stratman. “So there was some adjusting especially for us older guys who had been with Jason for a couple years. But I think that the team found trust in Bernie really quickly, from when he first arrived in the spring and especially now. Most importantly, everyone bought into his style and his system from the beginning, which makes it a really great team environment and extremely fun to play because I think the team is all on the same page.”
In order to get on the same page, the coaches and players had to build relationships. It started back in April. The connections strengthened even as the Bulldogs went 1-4 through their first five games. Worth noting, Concordia’s nonconference opponents are a combined 60-19-17 this season as of Oct. 27.
Says Olbrich, “I believe that our togetherness as a group helped us get through the challenging start. It would have been easy to start blaming each other when things didn't go our way, but the relationships we have built with one another allowed us to take each step as a learning opportunity and to grow from them.”
The growth has been evident. A 3-2 win at rival York on Sept. 12 sparked a 10-game winning streak that carries into the final game of the regular season. The closing chapters are yet to be written, but the 2026 Bulldogs will forever be the program’s first GPAC regular season champions.
“It's a great moment for the university as a whole and for the soccer program,” Ochoa said. “It's been a long time coming. Jason Weides has done an excellent job building this program and allowing me to step in and continue to build it.”