SEWARD, Neb. – In an unusual stretch, this marks the third week in a row that the Concordia University women’s soccer team has played on Saturday only. The last time out, the Bulldogs drew, 2-2, at Dordt in double overtime (Sept. 28). That result means that head coach Chris Luther’s squad still has yet to suffer a GPAC loss. Concordia enters the weekend at 2-6-1 overall and at 2-0-1 in league play. It will host Mount Marty at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday. The contest will be carried live by the Concordia Sports Network.
Luther’s bunch should be adequately rested considering it has played just three times since Sept. 11. All of those games have been against conference opponents with the results being a 3-0 win at Presentation, a 1-0 home victory over Northwestern and the aforementioned tie at Dordt. The Bulldogs now have a combined record of 24-1-5 over their past 30 GPAC regular-season games. The only blemish on the mark during that stretch came at the hands of Briar Cliff.
One positive development has been Concordia’s improvement on the attack. Things can still be better, but the Bulldogs have been able to put behind a nasty streak of going scoreless through the first five games of this season. Some of the youngsters have provided a lift in this department. Freshman Jaiden Beecher has a goal in two games in a row. Both Beecher and fellow freshman Kaley Heinz found the back of the net at Dordt. Concordia has tallied all seven of its goals this season over the past four games.
Defensively, the Bulldogs will try to tighten things up after letting leads of 1-0 and 2-1 slip away at Dordt. Concordia has plenty of confidence in its experienced center back duo of Cheyenne Smith and Tori Cera and in goalkeeper Lindsey Carley. That combination gives the Bulldogs reason to believe they can compete with many of the top teams in the league.
Concordia has never lost to Mount Marty (3-2, 2-2 GPAC), which it defeated 12-0 in Yankton, S.D., in 2018. The Lancers have certainly shown progress since then. Their two GPAC victories (1-0 over both Presentation and Dakota Wesleyan) are already two more than they had all of last season. Through five games, Mount Marty has been outscored, 17-5. Kenyonique Thompson has three of the team’s five goals.
Coming up next week, the Bulldogs will play two ranked teams – at home versus No. 25 Midland on Oct. 9 and on the road against No. 14 Hastings on Oct. 12.