SEWARD, Neb. – Two weeks into preseason training, game week has arrived for Concordia University Women’s Soccer. The Bulldogs are readying to host Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference opponent Southwestern College on Saturday. This will mark the third-straight season that the two programs have played each other. Head Coach Thomas Goines’ squad went 6-1-1 inside Bulldog Stadium during the 2021 campaign.
Concordia vs. Southwestern | Saturday, Aug. 27 | 1 p.m.
-Bulldog Stadium | Seward, Neb.
-Live Webcast/Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/cun/
-Order tickets online (also sold on site)
Goines enters his third season leading the Bulldogs. Concordia placed sixth in the GPAC in 2021 after capturing the GPAC tournament title in 2020. At 93-68-20 overall in 10 years as a collegiate head coach, Goines is closing in on triple digits in the win column. His ’22 squad features three returning All-GPAC players in defenders Grace Soenksen (first team) and Allee Downing (honorable mention) and goalkeeper Kalie Ward (honorable mention). The Bulldogs played in plenty of low scoring matches a year ago when they tallied 23 goals and allowed 20. As a program, Concordia has built a reputation as a strong defensive unit. Since 2014, the Bulldogs have appeared in six GPAC tournament championship games.
The expectation is that several freshmen will help Concordia become more dangerous in the attacking third. Already one of the team’s fastest players, freshman Kierstynn Garner collected 13 goals and 12 assists in her senior season at Kearney High School. Meanwhile, Omaha South High School alum Elena Ruiz has been immediately impressive in August training. Additional freshmen to keep an eye on are Savannah Andrews, Niah Kirchner and Shi-Lynn Yon, among others. For a detailed season preview, click HERE.
The Bulldogs traveled to Winfield, Kan., last September and came away with a 2-1 win with the help of a goal apiece from Mikeila Martinez and Anisa Lewis. The Moundbuilders won the 2020 matchup (also played in Winfield) by a 1-0 score in double overtime. Before heading to Seward, Southwestern will open its season on Wednesday versus Midland. The Moundbuilders went on to finish the ’21 season at 13-5-1 overall. An alum of Southwestern, Head Coach Joe Schwartz enters his second season leading the program.