ABERDEEN, S.D. – The Concordia University Women’s Soccer team entered a weekend road trip up north knowing its season is on the line. Aided by a Savannah Andrews goal and an overall stout defensive effort, the Bulldogs picked up a 1-0 win at Presentation that they had to have on Saturday (Oct. 22). Most impressively, Concordia limited the host Saints to just three shots.
Head Coach Thomas Goines’ squad picked up three league standings points and better positioned itself for a spot in the GPAC tournament. With just one game left in the regular season, the Bulldogs have moved to 4-5-2 within league play (9-5-2 overall).
“In the GPAC right now, pretty much teams four through 10 are competitive matches,” Goines said. “I think everybody is beating everybody up. It’s reflected in the standings. Presentation is far improved from where they have been. We knew coming here on a long trip was going to be a challenge. We’re happy to find a result in a tough place to play. We generally managed most of the match.”
As Goines noted, keeper Kalie “Rocket” Ward made a “huge save” not long after kickoff that prevented Concordia from having to play catch up on the road. Then in the 24th minute, Savannah Andrews slotted in the game’s first goal, off an assist from Niah Kirchner. From that point forward, Presentation (6-5-3, 3-5-2 GPAC) did not register another shot until the 84th minute. Saints top goal scorer Jayda Hammer did not fire even one shot.
Ward collected three saves as part of the defensive-minded battle. A freshman from Gretna, Neb., Andrews put two shots on frame (most of any player in the game). It wasn’t a contest about offensive firepower though, this was 90 minutes ruled by Concordia’s strong defensive play. The Bulldogs shored things up following this past Wednesday’s 3-0 loss to Briar Cliff (now 9-0-1 in GPAC play).
Said Goines, “We’ve decided who we are going to be and a defensively-sound team is one of those core principles. The girls bought into it. We made the effort to make sure the first ball wasn’t going to be behind us. It took an entire team to do. We had good play from our keeper and our backline and our midfield did a great job.”
As of Saturday night, Concordia resided in a tie for sixth place in the GPAC standings. Ten teams are in serious contention for the eight conference tournament positions. The goal is to extend the program’s active streak of 13-straight years of reaching GPAC postseason play.
The Bulldogs will be at home on Wednesday to finish up the regular season. The opponent will be rival Doane (7-7-2, 4-5-1 GPAC) with kickoff at 5:30 p.m. CT from Bulldog Stadium. Concordia has won each of the last nine series meetings with the Tigers. Both sides are in a fight to try to make the GPAC tournament.