Bulldogs finish 10-0 sweep of conference rivals in heated 3-1 win over Midland

Concordia celebrates its perfect 10-0 conference record.

Photo: Chandra Olbrich

By Keith Siek

Concordia men’s soccer fought through a flurry of controversial cards during their 3-1 home victory over Midland University on Wednesday, ultimately securing a two-score victory and a perfect conference record in front of an animated home crowd in the regular-season finale. 

Concordia scored two goals in the first half, one off a header from senior Kai Olbrich just two minutes into the game, and another by senior Niko Nareike capitalizing on sophomore Joe MacCarroll’s corner kick late in the first half, but whistles were blown early and often, totalling seven yellow cards against the Bulldogs. From the 30th minute through the end of the match, Concordia was handed six yellow cards, to one yellow card on Midland. 

Concordia softball team supports the Bulldogs. Photo: Ben Frerking

The stands made their feelings known to the head ref all game, including a passionate women’s soccer and softball team cheering on the men to victory.

Freshman Isak Howe agreed with the overall sentiment of the crowd.

“Honestly, I’m not happy about the officiating,” Howe said. “That was interesting officiating, to say the least. I don’t get paid to ref, but that was below sub-par.” 

The yellow cards were dealt to key players for the Bulldogs, including junior Sean Stratman on a play in which he was shaken up and subsequently taken out of the game, and junior goalie Florian Quast, who was charged a yellow card due to dissent after giving up a penalty kick which resulted in Midland’s lone goal.

Coach Bernie Ochoa took key starters like Quast out of the match midway through the second half while Concordia was holding onto a 2-1 lead. If a player earns two yellow cards, he receives a red card and is disqualified from the current game and the next game.

Senior Michael Wyvill said that his teammates knew this would be a tightly officiated game, and that the team could have been smarter in controversial moments.

“We’ve had this referee before. Needless to say, he doesn’t shy away from handing out yellow cards. In the end, we weren’t smart in moments where we should have,” Wyvill said. 

The head official gave a yellow card to Ochoa at the 41-minute mark, as he was arguing his players’ case for a play in which the official teed up two yellows at the same time against key pieces for the Bulldogs, junior Sebastian Montino and McCarroll.

Ochoa said that he is proud of how his team fought through the adversity, but said the yellow cards forced him to take players out of the match.

“I’m proud of the boys; they didn’t let [the officiating] get to us. It is unfortunate that there was a lot of yellows given,” Ochoa said. “I took out my starters who had a yellow because there is no need to keep them in and get a second yellow and miss the next game.”

Sophomores Carter Wiebusch and Milo Hegarty headed a long list of substitutions who stepped in to seal the victory. Wiebush played 28 minutes at goalie with one save after Quast exited the game.

Wiebusch set up the Bulldogs’ third goal with a kick from the box that sailed over midfield unchecked by Midland players, setting up a breakaway chance on goal for sophomore Karlo Rodriguez, who dribbled past Midland’s last line of defense and struck the right goal post on his scoring attempt. Hegarty ran down the rebound and buried the dagger into the net, stretching Concordia’s lead to the final 3-1 margin. 

Ochoa said that the goal was a testament to how his team responds. 

“Our guys always respond. It speaks volumes of every guy on our team. We’ve got game changers, not starters and bench players. It’s game changers in an 18-19 man rotation,” Ochoa said.

Concordia ended the day with 29 shots during the action between the whistles and put 11 on goal. The Bulldogs’ goalies saved six shots in the game. Despite the discrepancy in yellow cards, the total fouls in the matchup were tied 13 apiece. 

Wyvill said that Concordia is grateful for closing the season on a 10-0 Great Plains Athletic Conference run, but that they are excited to host the tournament in Bulldog Stadium.

“That is just the start. We have three games left in the playoffs at home that we expect to win, and it starts here on Saturday night against Doane.” 

The No. 1-seeded Bulldogs look to begin a deep GPAC tournament run on Saturday, with a matchup against the No. 8-seeded Doane University at 6 p.m. Concordia beat the Tigers 2-1 on the road in September, but now the Bulldogs host every tournament game in which they play as they look to complete the sweep of the GPAC team awards. 

Freshman Bulldog fan Adam Sutton says that students should come out and watch soccer.

“You’ve got to get out here. This is peak soccer,” Sutton said.

Ochoa said his squad is not going to take any team for granted.

“Whoever is in front of us, we have to prepare for. We play well at home and are not going to take any team lightly. We’ve got three games left to get to nationals.”