Women’s Soccer Defeats Dakota Wesleyan 4-0 on Senior Day
By Nicholas Boys
The Concordia women’s soccer team overcame a slow start to finish with a comfortable 4-0 victory against Dakota Wesleyan University on Saturday afternoon. Four different Bulldogs found the back of the net as they maintained their lead in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) standings at 7-0-1.
After initially struggling to find an offensive groove, junior midfielder Morgan Raska scored Concordia’s lone goal of the first half in the 23rd minute after being put through the defense by teammate Mikeila Martinez.
“It was tough to get a rhythm going. Halftime gave us a chance to talk it out and realize we had to knock the ball around and let people slip in behind,” Raska said.
The Bulldogs came out in the second half with a reinvigorated attack, scoring three goals and outclassing their opponents. Victoria Cera scored the Bulldogs’ second goal of the game in the 66th minute before Maria Deeter added a penalty kick in the 71st and Lauren Martin scored off a corner in the 76th.
“We can still improve on playing the full 90 minutes,” Raska said. “Sometimes we come out slow, which can ultimately hurt us.”
The Bulldogs led the way in shots 21-11 while also achieving their third straight shutout.
A good turnout was on hand at Bulldog Stadium to honor the team’s senior class who have experienced much success over their four years at Concordia. The group has amassed a 54-14-10 record over the four years while also taking home a GPAC tournament championship in 2016 and a GPAC regular season championship in 2017.
The win pushes Concordia to 10-1-3 (7-0-1 GPAC) on the season as they aim to continue their winning ways Tuesday night against Mount Marty College (South Dakota).
