BELLEVUE, Neb. – The Bulldogs and Bruins proved to be worthy opponents as the rivalry ended in a 1-1 draw on Wednesday (Sept. 3). Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Soccer and Bellevue University ended in a tie for the second year in a row, this time at the Renner Dennis Outdoor Athletic Complex. Kierstynn Garner would add the lone goal and has scored in every game this season thus far.
The Dawgs are 3-0-2 and remain unbeaten through the first five games of the 2025 campaign.
“For us in the first half, they made things hard,” Head Coach Nick Smith said. “Their press and re-press were really polished and clean. We had to make a couple of adjustments at halftime and change roles for some players. Ultimately, in the second half, we balanced the game out well. We created some good chances in the second half. It was a little unlucky for us not to get one. At the end of the day, a 1-1 is a fair result for the evening. It was good for our group, to not really get going and not play as well as we can, but still get a result.”
Struggling to keep possession in the opening frame, the Bulldogs pressed the back line and forced a pass back to the Bruin keeper. Garner, bearing down pressure, puts a boot to the arrant clearance by the keeper and puts the visitors up in the opening half.
With a home field advantage, Bellevue used the width of the field to connect long passes and shared the ball toward the opposing net. The Bruins’ Maju Serrano pushed a cross from the far side of the field for a header equalizer by Lily Humes just before going into the locker rooms.
In the second frame, Bellevue continued to hold an edge in possession but settled for shots well outside of the penalty box. Making her first start this season, Concordia goalie Aliya Vidro made 10 saves keeping the Bruins at bay. Vidro, a Colorado Springs, Colo., native, grabbed a career high and single-game high in saves this season.
In a contest played mostly in the midfield, the sides exchanged blows back and forth as the Bulldogs were led by Niah Kirchner, Elena Ruiz, Evie Keller, and Charli Priester. The possessing teams would lose the ball when getting towards the top of the box near the back line.
Bellevue (2-0-1) was led by Humes’ score, Adi Kasel (three shots) and Mia Hurt (three) in the 90 minutes. The Bruins totaled 16 shots with 11 on goal compared to the Dawgs 5. Goalkeeper Abril Cura collected a save. The purple and black will face another GPAC squad in Morningside on Saturday in Sioux City, Iowa.
Concordia (3-0-2) will celebrate 11 seniors on Saturday in its home match versus Kansas Wesleyan University (1-1-1). The Bulldogs will host the graduates at Bulldog Stadium and plan to kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT in Seward. CUNE defeated the Coyotes (4-1) in the last meeting in 2023.