By Sam Firminhac, Athletic Communications
ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The Concordia University Women’s Soccer team remained deadlocked with the Northwestern Red Raiders for the final 50 minutes of Saturday (Sept. 25)’s game, which eventually ended in a 2-2 tie following two overtime sessions. Despite a large advantage in shots and in overall possession, the Bulldogs had to settle for the draw. They enjoyed a 2-0 lead just after halftime of action in Orange City, Iowa.
Head Coach Thomas Goines’ squad now sits at 4-2-2 overall (1-0-2 GPAC). The draw denied Northwestern of their first conference win as it moves to 3-6-1 (0-3-1 GPAC).
“The first 60 minutes – up until the momentum changed on us – we played a very good game,” Goines said. “We held the ball and moved it as well as we have. We held the run of play until a weird goal and a weird PK. The game became more of a dogfight. That’s what happens in the GPAC when you make mistakes – you make it much harder on yourself. In overtime we responded well.”
Madeline Haugen was the first to find the back of the net for the Bulldogs with a goal in the 40th minute (second of the season). Right out the gate in the second half, Michaela Twito found the bottom right corner off a pass from Aliyah Aldama, for Twito’s first goal of the year.
In the second half, the Red Raiders erased the deficit scoring two goals in a five-minute span, the second goal via penalty kick in the 60th minute. There were some tense moments on both sides during the long stretch of a tie game. The Bulldogs missed out on a number of potential opportunities to find the third goal. The draw keeps alive Concordia’s unbeaten streak against ranked opponents, making it 13 (9-0-4) in a row.
The entire first half was dominated by Concordia, which outshot Northwestern 12-2. The Red Raiders adjusted in the second half outshooting the Bulldogs 12-9 while netting two goals. Concordia goalkeeper Kalie Ward faced seven shots on frame, saving five. Northwestern’s goalkeeper Kaelin Alons was able to keep the Bulldogs offense in check only letting two of 14 shots on goal into the back of the net. Concordia owned an advantage of 25-16 in the overall shot count.
If not for a couple of failed clearances, the Bulldogs would have been celebrating a victory. “I think it was similar,” said Goines in comparing the contest to the draw three days earlier versus Dordt. “We have to find a way to finish off matches and have consistent effort and energy for 90 minutes. Early in the year we struggled in the first part of matches and did better in the second half. We’ve corrected that and have done well in the first half. We have to maintain that momentum. The challenge is growing into that over the course of the year.”
The Bulldogs will return to Bulldog Stadium on Wednesday to face Midland (5-4, 2-1 GPAC). This will be the first matchup between the two teams since last year's GPAC semifinal game. In that contest, Concordia won in dramatic fashion, triumphing on penalty kicks. Wednesday's game is set to kickoff at 5:30 p.m. CT.