CUNE men’s soccer ends GPAC advancement with loss to Dordt

Photo description: Freshman Zahid Falcon makes a tight turn as he chases down a Dordt Defender

Photo credit: Courtney Wright

Isaac Dawson

Sower Staff

The Concordia Men’s Soccer team took a devastating loss in their match against the Dordt Defenders this Wednesday, ending their hopes to move on in the quarterfinals with a final score of 3-0.

Going into the first half Concordia seemed to be keeping the ball on Dordt’s side of the field, fending off the Defenders’ offense with relative ease and nearly scoring several times during six attempted corner kicks. The opposing goalie was able to save both shots that made it past the defense, allowing Dordt’s offense to push forward and take the first goal after a corner kick. Several turnovers by the Defenders allowed for the ball to push back to their side of the field, letting one last shot on goal get past the defense and right on by the goalpost to end the half at 1-0.

The second half didn’t quite turn over a new leaf for the Bulldogs, who were unable to put in a goal before the second attempt in the half on Concordia’s net met success, scored by sophomore Defender Marco Laenen. Laenen received a yellow card after showing off with a long victory lap, throwing his jersey onto the field and yelling to the Dordt student section.

The Bulldogs pulled out all the stops, attempting to bring the lead back into a reasonable distance, but were met by an unyielding Dordt defense. The Defenders weren’t done just yet, however, and pulled off yet another goal to widen the gap with 15 minutes left in the game.

Head Coach Jason Weides explained the expectations for the match and strategy for the second half, saying, “Expectations were that we would play well, and that we would find a way to advance, no matter what the circumstance was. It felt like that when it was one zero them, felt like that at two zero, and honestly felt like we could come back when it was three zero, but we couldn’t get the first goal. We needed to have a sense of urgency, not panic. All in all, 45 minutes is a long time to score one goal, and we just had to trust in ourselves, and unfortunately, it just wasn’t at our best today.”

Offensively it was a tough blow to the Bulldogs, who made seven total shots. Three shots on goal were attempted by freshmen Okan Erkocu, Kai Olbrich, and Ferdi Hagan respectively with one shot each. Senior Victor Meneses put up the most shots at two.

The Concordia defense played worse than expected, saving one shot by Dordt and only one of four shots on goal, with one shot going wide. Sophomore goalie Nolan Fuelberth made a total of one save over the course of the match.

Concordia now has a record of 13-1-4. They will not be moving on in the Great Plains Athletic Conference championship, but have a chance at getting a bid into nationals, their first loss marking the end of their GPAC advancement.