ABERDEEN, S.D. – This felt like finding an oasis in the middle of the desert after a tough run through the nonconference schedule. The Concordia University women’s soccer team wiped the slate clean by opening up GPAC play with a 3-0 victory at Presentation College in Aberdeen, S.D., on Saturday (Sept. 14). Sophomore Katie Miles made the most of her opportunities and produced the first two goals of her collegiate career.
The Bulldogs were in need of a positive result after going winless through nonconference action. Head coach Chris Luther’s squad sits at 1-6 overall.
“It was a good win for us. We really started to see some good things from the girls in the Bellevue game,” Luther said. “We tried to build on that. We put a couple girls in some different positions against Bellevue and kept them in the same places today. Having Allee Downing and Morgan Raska puts a lot of speed up front. They’re kind of settling into those roles. Also having TC (Tori Cera) back in the lineup is definitely a benefit.”
Anyone who has followed Concordia to this point in the season knows the goals have not come easy. Sophomore Madeline Haugen opened up the scoring on Saturday with a breakaway goal in the 26th minute. It marked the third career goal for the California native.
It was a big day for Miles, who made a statement off the bench. She found the back of the net in the 38th and 39th minutes to supply plenty of breathing room Miles made good on the only two shots she attempted. Perhaps the only negative was that Concordia did not add on to the lead in the second half. However, the 27-4 advantage reflected a dominant performance by the visitors.
“She had a glorious 15 minutes,” Luther said of Miles. “We’ve been talking about making the best of opportunities that are given. Katie came in off the bench and gave us a great spark.”
Some additional lineup tweaks were made with Callie McNary starting for the first time in her career. Junior Lindsey Carley also returned to the lineup at goalkeeper and made two saves while earning the shutout. Eleven Bulldogs saw action off the bench. On the flip side, Presentation slipped to 1-5 overall and to 0-3 in GPAC play.
The Bulldogs will wait a week before returning to action next Saturday (Sept. 21) when they will host Northwestern (3-2-1, 0-0 GPAC). Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. CT from Bulldog Stadium. The Red Raiders will have had 10 days in a row without a game by the time they make their way to Seward.
Added Luther, “We had to wipe the slate clean with conference play starting. We’re going to really try to keep building on this. Having TC in the backfield is going to give us a lot more structure. Callie really stepped up today as well.”