Four Bulldogs score in homecoming rout
By Taylor Mueller, Sports Information Assistant
SEWARD, Neb. – A balanced scoring effort made for a victorious homecoming effort as the Bulldogs put together an impressive performance that saw four different Bulldogs find the back of the net.
Concordia took an early lead on sophomore Rachel Mussell’s GPAC-leading 12th goal of the season, assisted by junior Emily Flemming at the 21:20 mark.
The lead didn’t stand for long, however, when Morningside College (6-5-4, 2-3-2 GPAC) tied the game up four minutes later.
Concordia (5-6, 3-3 GPAC) came out a rejuvenated team in the second half, as numerous players got involved in the offense, and the Bulldogs scored three unanswered goals by Flemming in the 49th minute, junior Jordan Donahue in the 72nd minute and the final dagger by senior Kyleah Bowder three minutes later.
Head coach Lisa White noted the stark difference in her team’s effort in the second half.
“They stayed calm and they stayed composed,” White said. “We asked them, ‘What do you want to see in that second half and what kind of team are we going to be?’ Their responses were to score again, to keep the ball and that they will remember (when) they played us. I think our team responded really well to our own standards.”
White also commented on the team aspect of the game, including all the players who got involved in the offense that helped trigger an explosive second half.
“That was awesome,” White said. “It’s what we’ve been waiting for – to see more of a balance. It was really good to see other people pulling the trigger and having hits and feeling confidence. We’ve got lots of people taking chances, and to me, that reflects the confidence we found today to play with and hopefully we’ll carry through with that.”
Bowder shared similar insight on the involvement of numerous players in the second half offensive showcase.
“This game it kind of clicked,” Bowder said. “Everyone knew where they needed to be. We were there to finish and a lot of the goals we had were off of rebounds. We just did what we needed to do to stay composed."
It was an exciting performance for Concordia, who bounced back well after a difficult 3-0 loss earlier in the week at Midland.
“It was a tough loss on Wednesday,” Bowder said. “We weren’t happy with it and we weren’t happy with the way we were playing. It was time we dug deep and found out what we needed to do. Our coaches helped us get there and we worked hard and we earned it; just put the ball in the back of the net.”
“This week, we just worked on realizing we have an opportunity to choose to bounce back and choose how we’re going to respond,” White said. “We really emphasized that in training and put them in situations where they had to respond and it wasn’t an option to just give up and let things happen to us.”
Concordia will look for more of the same effort that it found in the second half when the Bulldogs take on Nebraska Wesleyan in Lincoln, Neb., on Wednesday at 6 p.m.