SEWARD, Neb. – From the opening whistle the hounds were relentless in possession firing shot after shot in the attacking third on Thursday night (Oct. 1). The Bulldogs put two on the scoreboard in opening half against College of Saint Mary (3-0) as Joey Long put a cherry on top in the final minute. The Seward roster outshot the Flames 19-9 in the 90 minutes.
Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Soccer is on a five-match win streak and 4-0 in conference affairs. The Bulldogs (5-2-2) are unbeaten in their last seven games after starting 0-2. CUNE is 13-0-1 versus CSM over the past 14 matchups.
“I think we switched the point of attack much better today, especially in the first half,” Head Coach Jason Weides commented. “We created a lot of good chances. We told the team that our shot-on-goal percentage wasn't as high as we would have hoped in previous games, so we asked them to make sure everything was on frame. I think literally every shot we had felt like it was on frame today, and they did a great job of that. We tested the keeper.”
The home gray kits punched nine shots towards the opposing net in the first 30 minutes but continued to come away empty. On the eighth shot, Abby Haynes caused a scrum in the box. The ball fell to Molli Kalsbeck after a winning header by Addie Snyder. The Kearney, Neb., forward finished the score with a high kick to put Concordia out front.
Less than three minutes later, Long was streaking down the far side and beat her defender to send a cross into the box. Haynes, on the receiving end, slashed in her fourth score (T-team high) of the season. The Columbus High alum has notched three on the scoreboard in the last four contests.
With the game in hand, Snyder tried to bury a free kick with 11 seconds remaining, but CSM’s goalkeeper Jenna Brown punched out a save. Long crashed the rebound and scored in the last seconds. The Columbus Neb., native tallied her first points as a Bulldog with the goal and assist transferring from the back line last season.
“I think we were all playing really well as a team,” Long said. “We had really good energy from the start, so everybody hyping each other up and being ready to play the game we love was the key. Full effort. We've talked a lot about how we don't want anybody stealing our lunch. We're just trying to protect the ball, and I think full effort all the way to the goal to cross the ball in was key.”
The team effort to hold on to the shutout took all five saves from goalie Aaliyah Matthews and the stellar play from the back line that includes Evie Keller, Charli Priester, Triniti Rowe and Avery Black. The Flames biggest chances came in the first 15 minutes of the second half. The team has had three clean sheets in nine games.
Snyder was on the front end of two separate scores and Rowe had the long assist in the opening stanza. Sadie Mares, Kianna Perez and Kyana Rios continued to take possession from the visitors in the middle third.
CSM (4-4-1, 1-2-1 GPAC) relied heavily on Brown as she racked up 10 saves keeping the Bulldogs from breaking the game open. The Flames were led by Jimena Estrada Gomez with three shots (two on goal).
Concordia (4-2-2, 3-0 GPAC) will have less than 48 hours before taking on Briar Cliff (5-2-1, 1-1-1 GPAC) in Sioux City, Iowa on Saturday (Oct. 3). The Bulldogs will take the field at 1 p.m. CT.