FREMONT, Neb. – The sizzling Bulldog attack continued to turn up the heat with a 4-0 shutout of Midland on Wednesday night (Oct. 15). Now on a three-game win streak, Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Soccer hammered the opposing goal with a 28-6 shot advantage. Kierstynn Garner became the second-highest goal scorer in the program’s history with 66 in her career.
Head Coach Nick Smith and company hit double digit wins (10-1-4) and are 5-1-2 in the GPAC.
“Our evolution throughout the 90 minutes, I am taking as a positive that we can use as a standing block,” Coach Smith said. “We took a step forward in the second half. We scored some goals and created opportunities, but I don’t think we got into the game well. We struggled with tempo and the width of the field. We created a lot more chances and got into the game more in the second half.”
In the 5th minute, Sadies Mares crushed a ball over the top to Garner, who made a last-second cross to Kyana Rios for the early score. Rios notched her ninth goal of the season.
With a 2-0 lead coming out of the break, a set piece scramble commenced the lone Garner score. Guadalupe Sanchez hustled to the ball, pushing it to KG for the turn and fire. The Kearney High alum put her 17th score of 2025 on the stat sheet.
Said Smith, “K would be the first to tell you, she is in this place because she has quality people around her on the field. At the end of the day, K is going to go down as one of the best Bulldog finishers that the program has ever seen. She is just an instinctual finisher on a level that I have never seen before. Her conversion rate is incredibly high, and her shot selection shows that she makes good decisions in those attacking areas.”
Looking for the first corner kick score of the campaign, the Bulldogs’ Taylor Slaymaker came in clutch with a tap-in from a Mares blast. Slaymaker scored the second goal of her career.
Concordia finished with a 7-0 corner edge in the dominant offensive showing. Possession seemed to remain at the feet of the Bulldog midfield, and the defense only allowed three shots on goal (six total). Aliya Vidro grabbed her second complete shutout and three saves. Sanchez found her seventh goal of the season from Sierra Springer.
The three leading finishers in the attacking third which includes Garner, Rios and Sanchez have mounted 33 goals in the NAIA nationally ranked offense.
Midland (1-11-1, 0-8-0 GPAC) had six shots from six different players and Ava Brandt collected 14 saves, her game high for this year. The Warriors will face Waldorf in Forest City, Iowa looking for their first conference win on Saturday at 5 p.m. CT.
Concordia (10-1-4, 5-1-2 GPAC) will make the trek to South Dakota to face defense-led Dakota Wesleyan (4-2-6, 3-1-3 GPAC) on Saturday. The Bulldogs will take the field at 6 p.m. CT in Mitchell, S.D.