Men’s Soccer Wins GPAC Championship

Jonas Sommerville

Sower Staff

Concordia men’s soccer triumphed in a thrilling game for the Great Plains Athletic Conference championship against Hastings College. The men won off of a penalty kick shootout, with the final score being 2-2.

The first period saw a dominant start from the Hastings Broncos. They scored two goals through the first half while the Bulldogs remained scoreless. With their backs up against the wall, Concordia came out firing in the second half. Junior Joao Pedro Verissimo started the Bulldogs off with a goal in minute 51. It was assisted by senior Carlos Orquiz. Orquiz also scored a goal of his own to tie the game up in minute 83. At the end of regulation, the score remained 2-2. The score remained that way even after two overtime periods. The game then went into a penalty kick shootout. Penalty kicks were made (from first to last) by junior Matt Schultz, Orquiz, Pedro Verissimo, and junior Victor Meneses.

Sophomore goalkeeper Gabriel Mendoza sealed the game with a clutch save on the final penalty kick by Hastings. He also had a great performance against a Hastings team that attempted 35 shots and 11 shots on the goal. Concordia only attempted eight shots, with four of them being on the goal.

Concordia now will advance to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics National Championship tournament as the GPAC champions. The first round is on Nov. 17 with the location and opponent to be determined.