YANKTON, S.D. – In one single day on Saturday (Sept. 19), the Concordia University Women’s Soccer team put up more than half the number of goals it scored the entire 2019 season. Eight different Bulldogs found the back of the net in the 12-0 rout at Mount Marty, which marked the opening of conference play. Concordia had not played an official game since a 1-0 overtime loss to Bellevue on Sept. 9.
Head Coach Thomas Goines earned credit for his first coaching victory with the Bulldogs. He was more than happy to kick back and watch his team blister the goal.
“It was fun game and a good confidence builder to start the conference schedule,” Goines said. “We got everyone in the match and a lot of kids got on the scoresheet. I’m happy with the effort. We were able to do some things that made us look pretty good in the final third.”
Concordia has put together some lopsided wins over the Lancers over the years, but last season’s meeting resulted in a much tighter 3-0 victory. Goines never had to sweat this one out in the least bit. The Bulldogs left no doubt going into the halftime break. A 3-0 lead after nearly 30 minutes of play became an 8-0 advantage at the intermission. The final shot count showed a 27-2 ratio in favor of Concordia.
The goal scoring summary looked like this:
· 5’ – Grace Soenksen
· 7’ – Jaiden Beecher
· 11’ – Mikeila Martinez
· 30’ – Mikeila Martinez
· 34’ – Aliyah Aldama
· 36’ – Jennika Chapman
· 41’ – Sydney Ross
· 45’ – Bethany Fuchs
· 61’ – Sydney Rogers
· 64’ – Sydney Ross
· 67’ – Jennika Chapman
· 88’ – Lina Kirst
Chapman, Martinez and Ross put home two goals apiece. Martinez also added a pair of assists. Twenty-three Bulldogs saw action in the game. At keeper, Lindsey Carley was called upon to make just one save in the clean sheet.
It’s safe to say Concordia handled the layoff between games quite well. Said Goines, “We were finally in position to have most of our athletes on the field. The mentality was right. We’ve taken an approach that every game counts towards a conference championship. They never left their foot off the gas and worked on what we needed to work on. That’s the attitude and mentality we need going forward.”
The 12 goals scored were the most for the program since it recorded exactly that same number at Mount Marty in 2018. First career goals were notched by Aldama, Chapman, Fuchs (had previous goals at a junior college), Kirst, Rogers and Ross.
The Bulldogs will continue conference play on Wednesday with a trip to Dordt (1-2-1, 0-1-1 GPAC). Kickoff from Sioux Center, Iowa, is set for 5 p.m. CT. The two sides played to a 2-2 double overtime draw in 2019.
