Season of close calls ends in GPAC quarterfinals

By Jacob Knabel on Nov. 3, 2021 in Men's Soccer

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – A theme throughout the fall, the Concordia University Men’s Soccer team could not quite capitalize on its opportunities in a close call with one of the GPAC’s top teams. The fifth-seeded Bulldogs saw their 2021 season halted on a chilly Wednesday (Nov. 3) evening in Sioux City, Iowa, where fourth-seeded Morningside earned a 2-1 GPAC tournament quarterfinal victory. This marks the third season in a row that Concordia endured defeat in the conference quarterfinal round.

It had been an up-and-down regular season for Head Coach Jason Weides’ squad, which hoped to put the pieces together for a deep postseason run. The Bulldogs (7-8-3 overall) will have to wait until 2022 to attempt to turn around these types of results against strong GPAC foes.

“Looking back, this game was indicative of our season in so many ways,” Weides said. “It was a tight, competitive game and we weren’t able to convert enough of our chances. Our guys responded really well to being down very early in the match and we were able to get one back. For the most part, we defended well, we pressed well and I thought we counter-attacked well. Ultimately, I thought we were a little bit better in the first half and they were a little better than us in the second half. It could have gone either way.”

Each time Concordia challenged one of the conference’s eventual top four seeds, it had a real shot to win. It leaves the Bulldogs with plenty of ‘what ifs’ at the close of 2021. In Wednesday’s outing, Morningside got a 55th minute goal from Robin Thomala and rode it to victory. The Mustangs did so while limiting the Concordia attack in the second half (five shots and no goals). The meeting was a bit of contrast to the regular season matchup that saw both teams register more than 20 shots (Morningside won that contest in Seward, 3-2).

The lone Bulldog goal was put away by Matt Schultz in the 38th minute. Schultz found himself in the right place after a long Yessine Bessaïes’ free kick deflected off the head of a Bulldog, making for a clean chance from about 10 yards out. The official initially signaled offside before a quick conference ended with the goal being put on the board. Concordia’s other three shots on frame were denied by keeper Bjarne Huth.

Defensively, the Bulldogs managed to shut out top Mustang goal scorers Moritz Lusch and Gero Zarbo, who had a goal apiece in the regular season meeting. Concordia keeper Gabriel Mendoza collected seven saves, including two in span of less than 10 seconds that required quick reactions in the 64th minute. Weides commended his guys for their response after Victor Beker’s highlight-reel worthy goal staked Morningside to a 1-0 lead already in the second minute.

There were a number of key injuries that nagged key players in 2021, but that won’t be used as an excuse. The Bulldogs entered the season believing they had a deep and talented team capable of contending for a conference championship. The sting from falling shy of the team’s measurable goals will have to fuel it throughout the offseason. At the same time, there’s confidence that the graduating seniors have left behind a strong foundation.

Said Weides, “I think we’ll take 24 hours to kind of decompress before we get started on next season. There’s definitely a great nucleus and opportunity for next year. We have a lot of young talent and I think this season will help them become better players. Our players and our coaching staff are frustrated with how the season turned out in some ways because we really believed we would be practicing tomorrow and preparing for the conference semifinals. We had that belief in ourselves the whole time. This team had the right mentality today. It wasn’t for a lack of effort or commitment. I give credit to this team because there have been so many one-goal losses, and I think our team showed some good resilience throughout the year. It will go down in the record books as a 7-8-3 team, but our guys battled and competed. It came down to the smallest of margins this year.”