SEWARD, Neb. – Wednesday (Oct. 6) night’s GPAC rumble was nothing if not entertaining. Both sides attacked with a frenzy in a physical battle that saw Morningside edge the Concordia University Men’s Soccer team, 3-2, inside Bulldog Stadium. Many more goals could have easily been put on the board in a contest that saw both teams record more than 20 shots.
Head Coach Jason Weides’ squad knows this feeling all too well. It was another instance in which the Bulldogs (5-6-1, 3-3 GPAC) fell short despite believing they had played well enough to earn a better result.
“Both teams had good chances in the attack,” Weides said. “The struggle is that we had a lot of chances and only 10 shots on goal. It was a one-goal game and we could have easily scored five goals. I think they could have had one or two more as well. It could have been a crazy 6-5 affair. I think this had a bit of a feel of a GPAC final. It was intense and got a little heated at moments. It’s frustrating that we’re on the raw end of it, but it shows we can come back from a negative position.”
This was the most active Concordia has been in the attacking third all season. The Bulldogs fired 23 shots (10 on goal) while the Mustangs put up 21 shots (10 on goal). Morningside (7-4, 4-2 GPAC) immediately jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute when Noah Aniser found the back of the net. A quick reaction of a save by Gabriel Mendoza just moments later allowed for Concordia to avoid going down 2-0.
There wasn’t time for either side to catch its breath as both mounted consistent counterattacks. Down 3-1 in the 75th minute, the Bulldogs got within a goal thanks to the collaboration of Ryan Wokutch and Isaiah Shaddick. The latter tapped a goal in on the assist from Shaddick. That goal made the final 15 minutes especially frantic. From that point on, the Mustangs played on the defensive while dodging potential equalizers from the likes of Yessine Bessaïes, Garrett Perry and Matt Schultz.
The first Concordia goal was notched by David Moreno at the 24-minute mark (assist from Jarrod Henson). That score tied the game, 1-1, at the time. On the other end, Moritz Lusch and Gero Zarbo joined in on the goal scoring. Lusch took seven shots, including four on goal. Mendoza made seven saves while helping the Bulldogs hang tight with a Morningside squad that had been receiving votes nationally prior to this week.
Concordia has answered the bell each time out with frustrating losses mounting. The Bulldogs will have to pick themselves back up again after their fifth loss this season by a margin of one goal.
Said Weides, “Our guys go back to work and they work hard the next day of training and start to focus on the next game. I mean, it hurts. It hurts when you lose games like this. The challenge for teams is that when you start to lose a few like this, you start to question things. I think this team is capable of being resilient and resolute in our goals. How we respond to moments like this will be the tale of our season.”
The Bulldogs would like to duplicate the result they had in their most recent road trip – a 5-1 win at Dakota Wesleyan last week. Concordia will head north for a matchup on Saturday with Jamestown (5-4-2, 3-2-1 GPAC). Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT. The Bulldogs won last season’s meeting, 4-1.