SEWARD, Neb. – The instant connections on offense lead to early scores from Abby Haynes and Guadalupe Sanchez. Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Soccer used the early advantage to lean on the defense for a result over Morningside (2-1) on Saturday (Sept. 26) night. The Bulldog attack fired five quality takes on frame in the first 23 minutes.
First-year Head Coach Jason Weides has led his side to four straight wins and six unbeaten matches since the 0-2 start. Concordia is 3-0 in conference and 4-2-2 overall avenging its only conference loss (3-1) from a season ago.
“It was a great start,” Coach Weides said. “Last year they started a lot of matches fast and got on teams early, and we haven’t really done that much this year. I thought we worked through the press of Morningside early on really well. We found some good pockets, broke the lines and switched the point of attack. Ultimately, it was a great effort by the team.”
In the second minute of the clash, Molli Kalsbeck blasted a shot, and the rebound was picked out of the back of the net after Haynes powered a score past the keeper. A Columbus High product, Haynes scored her third goal of the season and added an assist earlier this week.
“Just confidence,” Haynes commented on her relentless effort. “Honestly, I have so much confidence with these girls. They trust me with anything, like passing back. Our defense played really strong, and we just played really well.”
It wasn’t about two minutes later that the Mustangs equalized as both offenses were ruling the pitch early.
With both teams looking to go-ahead in the match, Kyana Rios dished out a beauty to Sanchez meeting the ball with a one-touch score in the 19th minute. The Grand Island, Neb., native notched her second goal in two games with 11 total finishes in her career. She has 11 points for 2026.
While both goals were peppered in the first stanza, the defenses settled in and rendered each side scoreless in the second half. The combination of goalkeeper Aaliyah Matthews and the defensive bandits made out with potential scores. The wall of defense that played all 90 minutes included Evie Keller, Charli Preister, Triniti Rowe, and the initial barrier was Addie Snyder. Many run-starting passes were cut off by Kiana Perez and Rios.
Coach Weides continued, “Abby, Addie, Evie and Charli were really top today, whether it was them pressing, holding off and securing possession in a tough back-to-goal situation, winning a header, battling and using their body. Our team’s getting better at it, and I’m really proud of them because it’s something we’ve been emphasizing. We took a big step forward in that today.”
Morningside’s great final touch was by Fenna Van Mill. The assist came from Trinay Garcia who looked lethal the majority of the match. The Mustangs (4-2-2, 1-1-1 GPAC) face Midland next on Oct. 3.
Concordia (4-2-2, 3-0 GPAC) will host College of Saint Mary (4-3-1, 1-1-1 GPAC) on Wednesday (Sept. 30). The Bulldogs will return to Bulldog Stadium at 7 p.m. CT.