ORANGE CITY, Iowa – All hope seemed lost as the Bulldogs found themselves down, 3-1, going into the final nine minutes, but Kyana Rios and Kierstynn Garner would not be denied to preserve a draw (3-3) with Northwestern on Saturday (Sept. 20). Garner scored the equalizer in the 86th minute as Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Soccer came up just shy of the go-ahead score in the final seconds of play.
CUNE stays unbeaten with a 5-0-3 overall record and a 0-0-1 GPAC showing thus far.
“We have a confidence in our attacking side of play that allows us to put ourselves in positions to get results even when we are losing games,” Head Coach Nick Smith said. “We have done that today. To score two goals and salvage a tie on the road, there are definitely positives that you pull from that. Ultimately, it was a disappointment in our overall game performance and management. Northwestern set themselves up to be defensively difficult and looked for counter moments. The lionshare of the problems we suffered today came from our own making. The pros of our mistakes are we can make ourselves better.”
Disappointment could have set in for road the Dawgs, as the Red Raiders tacked on their second (53’) and third (68’) goals in the second frame, as the first half one goal lead had dissipated. As the minutes waned, the Concordia offense dialed in more pressure and Rios scored (83’) past the Northwestern keeper for her fourth of the season.
Down one, Evie Keller dishes a prime through pass to a cheetah-like Garner and makes the Red Raiders pay for the open space to take her ninth goal of the year.
In the first frame, Savannah Andrews continued her tear with a cross from Garner and fired it into the far bottom corner. Andrews, a Gretna High alum, has three goals and three assists in the past six games.
Concordia peppered the opposing goal with 19 shots compared to Northwestern’s seven. The stout offense has now shot 47 times in the past two contests. Garner (six), Andrews (four) and Rios (three) were out front in the chances taken in Orange City.
Two goalies split time vying for the ownership of the Bulldog net as Aaliya Vidro played the first 60 minutes and Grady Smith the last 30.
The Red Raiders (4-2-1, 0-0-1 GPAC) were led by three different goal scorers in Lydia Timm, Olivia Regnerus and Aliza Edwards. Keeper Bailey Bynum blocked out three shots and Edwards was the only NWC player to have more than one try. Northwestern will travel to Forest City, Iowa to face Waldorf this Wednesday.
Concordia (5-0-3, 0-0-1 GPAC) will make a short trip to College of Saint Mary (1-6, 0-0 GPAC) on Wednesday afternoon (Sept. 24). The Bulldogs will start play at 3 p.m. CT in Omaha, Neb., as they look to seize their first conference win.