SEWARD, Neb. – After knocking off a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference opponent at home in its season opener, the Concordia University Women’s Soccer team will now take on a KCAC foe on the road. The Bulldogs have a bye in the middle of this week before heading to Joel H. Wiens Stadium in Hillsboro, Kan., for Saturday’s 6 p.m. CT kickoff at Tabor College. Head Coach Thomas Goines’ squad defeated Southwestern College, 3-2, this past weekend. The Concordia and Tabor programs are familiar with one another having also played each other in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
This Week
Saturday, Sept. 3 at Tabor (1-0), 6 p.m.
--Live Webcast
--Tickets: purchase on site
By the numbers
· In the face of a steady rain and a strong second half push by Southwestern in the season opener on Aug. 27, the Bulldogs showed the program remains a gritty one. There were two sequences that defined the game. Around the 60th minute, with the game tied 1-1, Concordia keeper Angela Banks saved a penalty kick. On the ensuing corner kick, Lisa McClain cleared a shot off the goal line to preserve the tie. The missed opportunities came back to haunt the Moundbuilders, who surrendered an own goal and a goal to Aliyah Aldama in the 78th minute. A goal for Southwestern in the 83rd minute was a little too late. The Bulldogs rang the bell in celebration of a 3-2 win.
· One of six freshmen to see their first collegiate action last week, Niah Kirchner got on the board with her first career goal by finding the back of the net in the 24th minute. That score gave Concordia a 1-0 lead at the time. The two freshmen who started in the opener were striker Kierstynn Garner and defender Hannah Kile. Kirchner came off the bench along with fellow rookies Elena Ruiz, Sierra Springer and Shi-Lynn Yon. A sophomore, Bell made her first career start and played all 90 minutes in goal. Banks collected five saves.
· The class of seniors (academically) made up a significant portion of the starting 11. The senior starters were Aliyah Aldama, Allee Downing, Ellie Eason, Lina Kirst, Lisa McClain and Grace Soenksen. That group knows what it’s like to win a championship having been part of the 2020 squad that defeated Jamestown in the GPAC tournament championship game. Since the start of the 2019 season, the senior class has helped the program to a combined record of 27-24-8.
· The ’22 squad features three returning All-GPAC players in defenders Grace Soenksen (first team) and Allee Downing (honorable mention) and goalkeeper Kalie Ward (honorable mention). The Bulldogs played in plenty of low scoring matches a year ago when they tallied 23 goals and allowed 20. As a program, Concordia has built a reputation as a strong defensive unit. Downing and Soenksen are the backbone of a back line that included Taylor Slaymaker and freshman Hannah Kile as last week’s starters. Ward missed the preseason due to her military commitments.
· The Bulldogs are 2-1 all-time versus Tabor in a series that only got started in 2018. The results have been a 4-1 win for Concordia in 2018, a 1-0 win for Tabor in 2019 and a 2-1 win for Concordia in 2021. In last season’s matchup, the Bulldogs got a goal apiece from Hannah Haas and Mikeila Martinez on the way to the victory. Concordia own a commanding advantage of 15-4 in the shot category. The goalkeeper duo of Banks and Ward faced just a single shot on goal.
The opponent
After finishing 2021 at 8-6-4 overall, Tabor began this season with a 4-3 victory over Panhandle State University (Okla.). The Bluejays will be at Hastings on Wednesday night before shifting their focus to Concordia. Head Coach Ian Thomson is in his ninth season leading Tabor, his alma mater. Over last season’s 18 games, the Bluejays were outscored by their opponents, 20-18. Tabor was picked fifth out of 13 teams in the KCAC preseason poll.
Next week
The road stretch will continue next week as the Bulldogs play at Graceland University (Iowa) on Sept. 6 and at No. 22 Benedictine College (Kan.) on Sept. 10.