SEWARD, Neb. – It’s been a yearlong conundrum for the Concordia University women’s soccer team. On Saturday (Oct. 26), the Bulldogs were limited to a grand total of two shots and fell to visiting Jamestown, 1-0, in Seward. Prior to the contest, Concordia honored its class of six seniors.
Head coach Chris Luther’s squad went scoreless for the week that also included a 0-0 draw at College of Saint Mary on Wednesday. At 4-4-2 in the GPAC (4-10-2 overall), the Bulldogs are in a fight to qualify for the eight-team conference tournament.
“It’s a battle we’ve been struggling with the whole season as far as just putting 90 minutes together,” Luther said. “Our defense has really been holding up well. We scouted Jamestown and knew they were decent on set pieces and quick coming off the wings so we tried to prepare for that. They put us in the backseat at the beginning of the game and capitalized on their corner kick. We just couldn’t get any real offensive threat started.”
Concordia never recovered from the 17th-minute goal produced by Karlie Hintze. Jamestown rode that goal out while stifling the Bulldogs, who had a couple of opportunities on corner kicks. Kaley Heinz and Michaela Twito both put a shot on frame, but that was it for Concordia, which has been shut out 10 times this season.
Those grim details put a lot of pressure on goalkeeper Lindsey Carley and the defensive backfield. Carley made three saves to help keep the Bulldogs right with the Jimmies (10-6, 8-2 GPAC), who are tied for second place in the league standings.
Carley (a junior athletically) was recognized along with the other seniors in Becky Freeman, Jessica Knedler, Morgan Raska, Kaitlyn Sims and Brynn Suddeth. Carley is the most acclaimed having been tabbed the 2017 GPAC Defensive Player of the Year. The ’16 and ’17 squads both won GPAC titles (one tournament, one regular season). Said Luther, “The work ethic and the personalities that they bring are going to be really difficult to replace.”
The Bulldogs will be at home for the final time this 2019 season when they host Doane (5-8-1, 1-7-1 GPAC) on Wednesday. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. CT from Bulldog Stadium. Concordia has dominated the series in recent years and blew out Doane last season, 5-0, in Crete.