SEWARD, Neb. – The nonconference portion of the regular season is nearly complete after the Concordia University Women’s Soccer team claimed a 2-1 win at Southwestern College (Kan.) over the weekend. The final nonconference matchup will take place on Wednesday when the Bulldogs head to Papillion Landing for a late afternoon contest against Bellevue University. Concordia will return home to host Mount Marty on Saturday for the GPAC opener.
This Week
Wednesday, Sept. 15 at Bellevue (3-4), 4:30 p.m.
--Webcast | Live Stats
Saturday, Sept. 18 vs. Mount Marty (1-3, 0-0), 1 p.m.
--Live Webcast/Stats
Head Coach Thomas Goines hopes the victory at Southwestern will help build confidence for a Bulldog squad still working to define its identity. In last week’s action, the Bulldogs (2-2) went up against No. 23 Benedictine College (Kan.) and dropped a 3-0 final score. The Ravens owned a 22-5 advantage in the shot count. Three days later, Concordia rallied from a 1-0 deficit in Winfield, Kan., and avenged a loss to the Moundbuilders that took place back in the spring. The nonconference slate to this point also included a 2-1 win over Tabor College (Kan.) and a 3-0 defeat at Grand View University (Iowa).
The two goals in the second half at Southwestern were encouraging for a squad still attempting to fine tune its approach in the attacking third. The Bulldogs have totaled four goals through four games. Two of those have come from Mikeila Martinez while one apiece has been contributed by Anisa Lewis and Hannah Haas. A native of Fairfield, Calif., Martinez also led the team last season with seven goals and has put away 11 in her career (58 games). The 2020-21 team increased its season goal count to 39 after producing 19 in 2019.
Michaela Twito (Ames, Iowa) will have a chance to break a program all-time record this week. Last week she appeared in the 82nd and 83rd games of her Concordia career. Currently, the school record for most career games played is 84, shared by Jeannelle Condame (2014-17) and Esther Soenksen (2014-17). Two other Bulldogs appeared in 80 or more games: Maria Deeter (81) and Jordan McCoy (80). Twito played a significant role for the 2017 GPAC regular season championship team and the 2020 GPAC tournament title squad.
Bellevue has played a GPAC-heavy schedule. The Bruins defeated Northwestern, 3-2, to open their season and have since been beaten by Dakota Wesleyan, 2-0, Hastings, 1-0, Morningside, 2-1, and Dordt, 3-0. However, Bellevue has often had Concordia’s number and is 12-2 all-time versus the Bulldogs. Concordia’s most recent win over the Bruins occurred in 2015 by a 2-1 score. Head Coach Tom White’s program went 12-4 overall last season.
Mount Marty will play Doane on Wednesday prior to visiting Bulldog Stadium on Saturday. The Lancers enter the week with one win, a 2-1 double overtime decision over NCAA Division III Buena Vista University (Iowa). Mount Marty has tallied a total of three goals so far this season. The Bulldogs cruised to a 12-0 win over the Lancers in 2020.
GPAC play will continue next week when Concordia hosts Dordt on Sept. 22 and travels to Northwestern on Sept. 25.