MITCHELL, S.D. – Despite having a decided advantage in possession on Saturday (Oct. 2), the Concordia University Women’s Soccer program saw its unbeaten streak halted by Dakota Wesleyan. A 42nd minute goal was the difference for the Tigers, who were coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to Dordt. The Bulldogs fell by a 1-0 score in a contest played on a grass field at Pepsi-Cola Soccer Complex in Mitchell, S.D.
Head Coach Thomas Goines’ program had not been defeated by a GPAC opponent since dropping a 3-0 decision at Morningside on Oct. 7, 2020. Concordia (5-3-2, 2-1-2 GPAC) proceeded to go 10-0-4 in its next 14 outings against conference foes.
“We did some of our best work this season in terms of keeping the ball,” Goines said. “We did really well side-to-side and created opportunities on the wing. It was one of those days where we were doing mostly what we wanted. Dakota Wesleyan has some athletic kids and we were trying to keep them out of space. We had a bad turnover and they got us on a counterattack. We had the ball for a large portion of it, we just weren’t able to find the back of the net.”
The Bulldogs put 10 shots on goal, including four from Aliyah Aldama. Down 1-0 at the break, Concordia came out of halftime and exercised control (10-3 shot advantage over the final 45 minutes). The Bulldogs just couldn’t break the goal line. Tiger keeper Hannah Trumbull made 10 saves in the process of recording the clean sheet.
The game’s only goal was delivered by Jozy Bardsley, who scored just before halftime. The contest was reminiscent of last season’s regular season meeting in Seward when DWU also won by a 1-0 final score. Concordia then got its revenge by defeating the Tigers, 2-1, in the GPAC quarterfinals.
For the second game in a row, Cheyenne Smith saw action off the bench for the Bulldogs. She was credited with three shots on goal in limited minutes. Smith emerged with the game-winning goal in Wednesday’s 1-0 victory over Midland. At keeper, Kalie Ward played all 90 minutes and collected six saves. Concordia used a fairly typical starting 11 of veteran players, with the exception of freshman Taylor Slaymaker.
This one will go down in the frustrating category of defeats. The Bulldogs felt like they played well enough to win – they continue to seek more consistency on the attack.
Said Goines, “Second half – we dominated possession and moved the ball how we wanted to move it. We had a few one-on-ones with the keeper and couldn’t finish. Credit to Dakota Wesleyan. They saw the game out, they defended and absorbed our pressure. We just weren’t dynamic enough in the final third.”
Concordia will return home on Wednesday to host Morningside (5-2-1, 2-1-1 GPAC) at 5:30 p.m. CT. The Mustangs shared second place with the Bulldogs in last season’s GPAC regular season standings. Concordia will attempt to knock off Morningside for the first time since the 2018 GPAC quarterfinals.