YANKTON, S.D. – Unbeaten no more. The Bulldogs silenced the potent Mount Marty offense in a 1-0 defensive joust to topple the Lancers on Wednesday (Oct. 10). The game winning score came from Molli Kalsbeck as Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Soccer earned its third consecutive shutout at Crane-Youngworth Field.
The Bulldogs seize first place with a 6-0 record in the GPAC, staying unbeaten in the last nine games (7-2-2). The pressing 11 have allowed only two goals in six league games.
“At the end of the day, I think it was a hard-fought game,” Head Coach Jason Weides said. “Two teams competing at the top, and that’s what you’d expect when you’re playing one of the top-performing teams in the conference. It wasn’t easy. Mount Marty played pretty well, and we weren’t at our best today. We had some uncharacteristic errors, and we weren’t as clean as we normally can be. What I’m really happy about is that we competed. Sometimes you just have to find a way to grind out a game. Maybe it’s not pretty, but you find a way to do it, and I think we did that today.”
Only three shots were fired between both teams in the first 29 minutes. With two stellar defenses, quality chances came at a premium.
In the 30th minute, Kalsbeck crashed on a slow roller from Lancer to Lancer, dispossessing the centerback at midfield. Sprinting with the stolen ball, the Kearney, Neb., native belted the shot over Mount Marty keeper McKenzie Terp and into the far side of the net. The freshman forward has tallied four goals in her first season as a Bulldog.
That was all it took as both squads, looking to own ball control, were limited in quality takes.
Concordia’s Matthews matched her career high in saves(eight) from a season ago defeating a then-ranked No. 4 Columbia College (Mo.) in the second start. The second-year transfer has four complete clean sheets in 2026.
Averaging three goals a contest coming into the game, the Lancers were stifled by the stingy 11, making every shot with a Concordia player on their hip. Each Bulldog had moments needed for the shutout. Evie Keller kept possessions cleared, Charli Preister owned the air forcing ball outside the box via headers and Triniti Rowe forced bad passes by the home offense.
Facing one of the conference’s leading shot takers, Avery Black poked and prodded on every ball from Rhyli Grim rendering the offensive weapon helpeless for all 90 minutes.
Weides continued, “Our backline did the job defensively in a tough environment against an undefeated team, a good team. They are creating a lot of chances and scoring a lot of goals. To have another shutout in that moment against a team that is a high-caliber offense right now is a testament to the quality and the work they’re putting in to improve every single day.”
Playing all 90 minutes were Matthews, Black, Rowe, Addie Snyder, Keller, Preister. Midfielder Kianna Perez owned her 82 minutes in on-the-ball and off-the-ball situations.
The Lancers (7-1-3, 5-1 GPAC) suffer their first loss of the season. Grimm led with six shots and leading goal scorer Julianne Donnelly shot once.
Concordia (7-2-2, 6-0 GPAC) will return to Bulldog Stadium to square off against Dakota Wesleyan (3-2-4, 1-2-2 GPAC) on Saturday (Oct. 10). The Bulldogs will take the field at 1 p.m. CT. CUNE defeated the Tigers (1-0) last season.