Offensive outburst propels Bulldogs to first GPAC victory
SEWARD, Neb. – The Bulldogs needed only 28 minutes to equal their season high of three goals on the way to a 6-0 win over visiting Dakota Wesleyan on Saturday. Concordia junior forward Nathan Douglas posted his second two-goal game of the season in powering the Bulldogs to victory.
“We got goals in both first and second halves, which is something we haven’t done a lot this season,” Concordia head coach Jason Weides said. “We’ve been coming out hot and scoring a lot of goals and then cooling off in the second half, or vice-versa. So it was really pleasing to see us score goals consistently throughout the game – really the definition of a team effort.”
Douglas got started early with a goal in the second minute that allowed Concordia (7-3, 1-2 GPAC) to draw first blood. About 22 minutes later, the Winnipeg, Canada, native laced another shot into the net for his team-leading fifth goal of 2012.
Douglas would not be the only one to get in on the offensive explosion. The Soenksen brothers, who combined for Concordia’s lone goal in Wednesday’s 2-1 overtime loss to Hastings, both added goals of their own on Saturday. Gideon Soenksen struck first with a score in the 28th minute prior to Kevin Soenksen’s back-of-the-netter, which came in the 54th minute off an assist from Kevin Soensken.
Freshman defender Sean Doran posted his third goal of the season in the 57th minute to add the exclamation point in the blowout win. The 6-foot-6 Doran got well above the Dakota Wesleyan defense off a free kick and headed in the pass from senior midfielder Ian Euler.
“We wrote up on our marker board that we had a target area on long free kicks,” Euler said. “I just hit it there and Sean had a nice finish with his head.”
Bulldog sophomore defender Daniel Moore tucked the ball inside the left post in the 79th minute for his first career goal to provide the final tally of Saturday’s contest.
Weides was happy with the way his team came back from Wednesday’s tough 2-1 overtime loss to No. 23 Hastings.
“They responded really well,” Weides said. “They didn’t feel sorry for themselves. They didn’t feel like they were cheated or slighted. They knew it was a good game, we just didn’t get on the good end of it. They were hungry to get back at it.”
Dakota Wesleyan (2-8, 1-2 GPAC) failed to crack the scoreboard on the few solid chances it set up. Chaz Foss tried to give the Tigers some life early in the second half with his team down 3-0. With the swing of his right leg, Foss struck the ball off the crossbar from about 25 yards out.
Concordia will break from GPAC play on Wednesday when Central Christian College (Kan.) (5-3-1) of the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference visits Bulldog Stadium. The Bulldogs then return to GPAC play next Saturday at Mount Marty (1-8, 0-2 GPAC) with kickoff scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Relative of Euler serves as Honorary Bulldog Junior: Jagger Schindler, a cousin of Ian Euler, served as Honorary Bulldog Junior on Saturday. The five-year-old Jagger, who has a condition called Childhood Apraxia of Speech, joined Concordia on the field for pre-game introductions.
“It was real nice,” Euler said. “He got a lot of smiles out of it today. We’ll all remember it.”