The streak stays alive: Concordia cruises past Hastings 4-1
Hugo Garrote takes a free kick against Hastings.
Photo: Ben Frerking
By Christian Myers
Concordia men’s soccer continued its historic run on Wednesday, flying past the Hastings Broncos in a 4-1 victory. On the heels of an extremely aggressive offense, Concordia now has eight consecutive wins along with their undefeated record in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (7-0), and is one step closer to securing the regular season GPAC title.
The last time Hastings and Concordia matched up, the Bulldogs took a 1-0 overtime victory in the 2025 GPAC quarter-finals; there’s no doubt the Broncos looked to cite some vengeance in 2026. Instead, Concordia took control immediately. Two goals in the first 11 minutes of play by seniors Hugo Garrote and Kai Olbrich set the tone for what was to come.
Olbrich, coming off a two-goal performance on Oct. 10 vs Dakota Wesleyan, did not slow down his offensive production.
“Kai’s just been that guy. He’s started, he’s not started, at the end of the day he always contributes 100%,” coach Bernie Ochoa said. “He puts it all on the field, and he creates those opportunities for himself.”
Garrote was repeating history on his goal as he scored from over 30 yards out on a free kick. The shot was nearly a carbon copy of his golden-goal game-winner against the Broncos in the 2025 quarter-final match.
Concordia’s leading goal scorer, sophomore Joe McCarroll, also showed out offensively. In minute 29 of the first half, McCarroll utilized a header on a corner kick by Garrote to bag his first goal of the game. In the second half, McCarroll took it to the house all on his own, tallying his second goal of the day. He now has seven goals on the year, placing him in a tie for fifth place in the GPAC. For the sophomore, words are scarce, but his play allows everyone to follow his lead.
“Joe is one of those quiet leaders. He leads by example, he leads with his play, and he goes out there and does his best game in and game out,” Ochoa said.
Concordia put up a season high of 21 shots versus Hastings, continuing their improved focus on offensive aggression. In their first nine games of the year, the Bulldogs let go only 72 shots as a team, scoring on 14 of them. Looking back at their four most recent matches, they have put up a combined 68 shots resulting in 16 goals while also limiting their opponents defensively.
“Early on, being a new coach, new team, new culture, there are always those growing pains,” Ochoa said. “We’ve been playing a little bit more aggressive, not sitting back, and that’s what’s been giving us the opportunities to score early on.”
The Bulldogs are now 7-0 in GPAC play and 9-4 overall, first place in both categories. Eight consecutive wins have only been done one other time in the history of Concordia men’s soccer (2023). With only three regular season games left to play, Concordia looks to create a new record and clinch the GPAC title. The Bulldogs will travel to Forest City, Iowa, on Oct. 17 to take on the Waldorf Warriors (0-7 GPAC).
