SEWARD, Neb. – Jubilant screams and hugs were had by the Bulldogs in the final seconds of the regular season finale as game-winning Kierstynn Garner scored the go-ahead goal to defeat Doane on Wednesday night (Oct. 29). After going down in the second frame, Garner and the Concordia University, Nebraska offense compiled back-to-back tallies in the waning minutes to complete the comeback. With the triumph, the women’s soccer squad finishes in second place in the regular season conference standings.
The Bulldogs only suffered one loss (12-1-5) in the entire 18-game slate and finished with a 7-1-3 showing in the GPAC.
“Elation,” Head Coach Nick Smith said. “We played really well tonight. We outshoot 19-2 but I think we found a different rhythm and a different intensity after we were down. We were able to get two goals in the final 10 minutes, and the ramifications for us were huge. To be able to lock up second place tonight was huge for us.”
The Bulldog attack had outshot the visitors 12-1 before the Tigers took the lead from a few errors in the 73rd minute. Looking down the barrel of a loss and dropping from second place to fifth, the offense immediately picked up steam in response. Just after crossing the final 10-minute threshold, Guadalupe Sanchez pushed the ball towards goal and Garner buried the empty net one touch to equalize.
With the final seconds coming from the crowded Concordia defensive end, Savannah Andrews ran to a cleared ball and punched the dish to KG. The Kearney, Neb., native let the ball slide past her defender on the right as she went left and the race was on toward the opposing keeper. The crafty Kearney High forward crushed a low ball to the right of the keeper and she ran to the corner as Bulldog fans screamed in “elation”.
“It was awesome,” Garner said. “We definitely deserved it. We outplayed them the whole 90 minutes. We just had to get one to go. It’s huge. A loss would have put us back in fifth because it's tight competition, but the win sealed second place, which was huge for us.”
Concordia controlled the 90 minutes with consistent possession in the attacking half, keeping it in Doane’s defensive zone almost exclusively with a 19-2 shot advantage. Garner, Andrews and Kyana Rios led the home squad with three shots each and the Bulldogs had a 6-0 corner kick advantage.
Said Smith, “It’s the first time in program history that we have had three consecutive second place finishes. It’s the first time we've gotten through an 18-game regular season and have one loss. It is huge for home field advantage and also the extra avenues to reach the national tournament bid as well.”
Concordia (12-1-5, 7-1-3 GPAC) earned the second seed and hosts No. 7 seeded College of Saint Mary (6-11-1, 5-5-1 GPAC) on Tuesday (Nov. 4). The Bulldogs will take the field at 6 p.m. CT in Bulldog Stadium. CUNE defeated the Flames (3-1) on Sept. 24 earlier this campaign.