Concordia women back on track with second straight shutout victory 

Trinity Rowe takes a corner kick against Northwestern.

Photo: Christian Meyers

By Christian Meyers

The Concordia women’s soccer team blanked Northwestern on Saturday, defeating them 4-0 in what was their second straight shutout victory. An aggressive Bulldog offense produced 17 total shots that allowed three separate players to find the back of the net. 

One of those three players was sophomore Charli Preister, who found herself playing as a striker for the first time this year. She led the bulldog charge in the first half, scoring her first of two goals in minute 38:10 by way of a header from a corner kick by junior Triniti Rowe. Only three minutes later, Preister followed that up with her second goal of the day to put Concordia up 3-0.  

“She’s (Preister) a very versatile player and can help us in a lot of areas, so I’m really proud of her for taking on a new role today,” coach Jason Weides said.  

The two other offensive heavyweights that completed Concordia’s scoring affair were sophomores, Guadalupe Sanchez and Abby Haynes. Sanchez, who led the team in goals going into Saturday, extended her lead and brought her total to eight on the year, good for fifth overall in the Great Plains Athletic Conference.  

Haynes, who assisted Sanchez with her goal in the first half, buried her own in the 61st minute to bring her season total to six. This year, Haynes and Sanchez have a combined 14 goals, and that alone makes up 40% of Concordia’s season total. The pair also own 33% of the Bulldogs total assists. Offensive aggression has been an immediate focus within Concordia’s game plan, and the two sophomores found themselves in the middle of the action against Northwestern.  

“We wanted to press high; we wanted to be aggressive in the attack and with our positioning too. I think we’re doing a little bit better job at that,” Weides said.  

Defensively, Concordia was also a force to be reckoned with. Northwestern fired off only six total shots, three of which ended up in the hands of Bulldog goalies’ sophomore Aaliyah Matthews and junior Aliya Vidro. While Vidro only played in 16 of the 90 minutes, she captured two saves, one of which was an incredible leaping deflection to keep the shutout intact.  

After dropping four points earlier this month, the Bulldogs are back on track with two consecutive wins. They move to 9-3-3 overall and 8-1-1 in GPAC play, tied with both Hastings and Morningside for first place in the conference.  

With one matchup left, the Bulldogs look to fight for the GPAC regular season title against Midland on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at Bulldog Stadium.