SEWARD, Neb. – For his role in last week’s shutout victory over Briar Cliff, Concordia University Men’s Soccer goalkeeper Gabriel Mendoza has been named the GPAC/Hauff Mid-America Sports Defensive Player of the Week, as announced by the league on Tuesday (Nov. 8). Mendoza has earned the honor for the first time in his career. As a team, the Bulldogs have collected five GPAC player of the week awards in 2022. Both Dominic Abdel-Ahad and Federico Simonetti have twice been selected as conference players of the week.
The lone outing last week came on Nov. 3 when second-seeded Concordia hosted seventh-seeded Briar Cliff in the GPAC quarterfinals. Mendoza made five saves and helped the Bulldogs fight off three successive corners at one point in the first half. Concordia emerged with a 2-0 win and advanced to the GPAC semifinals for the first time since 2018. A native of Fuengirola, Spain, Mendoza has started eight games at keeper this season and owns a record of 6-0-1 with two shutouts. He’s made 28 saves and owns a goals against average of 1.07.
The Bulldogs (14-2-2) will host Dordt in the GPAC semifinals at 5 p.m. CT on Tuesday (Nov. 8). The winner will play in the conference tournament final on Friday.