CUNE women’s soccer remains an unstoppable force

Photo description: Junior Senna McMullen passes to a teammate

Photo credit: Kayla Korb

Cohen Carpenter

Sower Staff

After a tight victory in Jamestown, North Dakota, the Bulldogs returned to Seward Wednesday and began yet another Great Plains Athletic Conference win streak against the College of Saint Mary, winning 2-0 in an early afternoon game.

With the win, Concordia’s record improves to 10-3-1 overall and 6-1-1 in the conference. Saint Mary, on the other hand, has now lost two in a row, but still boasts an impressive 4-2-2 record in GPAC play.

Storms were on the horizon Wednesday night, so the original start time of 7 p.m. was amended to be an hour earlier. This change in scheduling did not affect the high-flying Bulldog offense, as Concordia scored the first goal of the game in yet another divisional matchup. It was the usual suspects back at it for the Bulldogs, as the sophomore forwards Kierstynn Garner and Sierra Springer put the Flames defense on red alert from the first touch.

This pressure came to a head in 39’ when, after working to get open in the penalty box, Springer promptly received the ball from Garner. With Saint Mary’s keeper, junior Avila Schade, approaching quickly, Springer put a stern yet controlled touch on the ball, skirting it just to the right of the diving goalie.

The remainder of the first half was a relatively one-sided affair, with the Bulldogs dominating the time of possession and shots. This included a few crossbar scares for the Flames’ defense, with powerful shots on goal coming off the boot of Garner and sophomore midfielder Savannah Andrews.

Saint Mary’s best chance to even the score came in 39’. Junior midfielder Abbie Anderson took a corner kick that made its way into the middle of the Concordia penalty box. After an inspired scrum for the ball, a Saint Mary forward emerged with the ball inside the goal box, staring down Bulldog keeper, senior Bradi Ore. The shot came in fast and low, but fortunately for Bulldog fans, Ore was faster. Diving to the ground in an instant, Ore corralled the ball and was able to divert the attack. The field cleared for half with the scoreboard still reading 1-0.

The Bulldogs retook the field in the second half, looked down, and realized their pedal was indeed still on the metal. In 46’, a new Bulldog got a chance at the goal with senior defender Grace Soenksen getting her first shot on goal, a shot that just grazed the crossbar and landed harmlessly out of bounds.

Not even a minute later, Springer put yet another shot on goal. This time it was a shot from the far left corner of the penalty box that was saved by Schade.

Despite the constant attacks, the Saint Mary defense held stout for most of the second half. However, the pressure proved too much in the final 10 minutes.

After a prolonged possession on the Flame’s half of the field, the ball found its way to Garner yet again. With a defender in front of her and the goal a couple of dozen yards out, Garner found sophomore forward Ashlee Trujillo at the top of the penalty box. Trujillo, having been subbed in just eight minutes prior, got her first and best look at goal of the night, and she made it count. Rifling a shot towards the goal from 20 yards out, Trujilio found the back of the net and doubled the Bulldog lead on her first goal of the season.

The 2-0 score held until the final whistle, a deceiving score for what seemed to be a much more dominant performance by the Bulldogs. Concordia finished the night having outshot the Flames both in general and with shots on goal (12-2 and 6-0, respectively).

“We just have to keep shooting,” said head coach Nick Smith about getting more shots into the goal. “We hit the post two times in the first half… we also had some shots that forced some pretty decent saves from [Saint Mary’s] keeper.”

Next on the docket for the Bulldogs is Hastings College, which presents the biggest challenge to date. The Broncos are 10-1-1 overall and 5-1-1 in GPAC play.

“This is largely going to be a de-facto title decider,” said Smith about the matchup. “We are the only two teams that really control our own density.” It truly will be a battle between an immovable object and unstoppable force, as the Broncos are undefeated at home this season and the Bulldogs have yet to lose a match on the road. First touch is at 8 p.m. on Saturday in Hastings.