SEWARD, Neb. – Playing at home for the second time in 2020, the Concordia University Men’s Soccer Team let loose in the second half and routed visiting Kansas Wesleyan University on Wednesday (Sept. 16). Four unique goal scorers got into the act in the 4-0 victory inside Bulldog Stadium. The score was reflective of the way the Bulldogs dominated possession for the bulk of 90 minutes.
Thirteenth-year Head Coach Jason Weides’ squad has put together back-to-back wins. Concordia is 2-1 having also beaten MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.) on the road.
“It’s always fun to get goals and to get a shutout,” Weides said. “At the end of the day it was really nice to get a lot of guys on the field. We have a lot of guys competing, working hard – and a lot of them that are deserving some time. For some it was the first minutes of their collegiate career or of this year. They’ve been really improving. It’s great to see that materialize.”
Eighteen Bulldogs wound up seeing action while Concordia distanced itself from the Coyotes (0-1) of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. This was the first time out this season for KWU, which ran into scheduling difficulties to open up the year. Concordia took advantage and owned the shot count, 17-5. In perhaps the best chance the Coyotes had all night, keeper Federico Andrea Simonetti made a sterling save to deny Andrew Quiroz just before the intermission.
After conceding three penalty kick goals over the first two outings, the Bulldogs got on the board with one of their own in the 23rd minute. Freshman Ryan Wokutch drew a foul in the box that set up Carlos Orquiz’s PK goal. The floodgates opened after halftime with Garrett Perry (54’), Wokutch (72’) and Moises Jacobo (79’) adding to the lead. Jacobo also assisted the second and third goals as part of a big night.
Wokutch has already knocked in a pair of goals in the early going of his collegiate career. After Wednesday’s game, he received a cold bucket of ice dumped over him as a reward, courtesy of his teammates. He’s one of the guys.
Said Wokutch, “I’ve had a lot of fun. Everybody on the team is amazing. They’re all nice and I think we can go far.”
Simonetti made three saves in 77 minutes before giving way to Santiago Esparza in goal. The back line did the job in front of Simonetti and Esparza. The starting group included Joao Pedro Verissimo, Decker Mattimoe, Iker Casanova and Michael Lindberg from left to right. Pedro Verissimo talked of his aspirations of reaching the national tournament in the postgame huddle.
For now the focus is on improvement each time out. Said Weides, “Our pressing is getting a little bit better. I think we still have a ways to go. In our first game we were all over the place in terms of our pressing. We quickly improved on that the last couple games.”
With the win, Concordia avenged a 2-1 overtime loss to Kansas Wesleyan that occurred last season. The Bulldogs and Coyotes have matched up in four-straight years with Concordia winning three of those meetings.
The Bulldogs had originally been scheduled to play at Mount Marty this Saturday. That game has been postponed until Oct. 12. That means Concordia will open up GPAC play next Wednesday (Sept. 23) at Dordt (0-3, 0-1 GPAC). Kickoff from Sioux Center, Iowa, is set for 7:15 p.m. CT.
