Concordia Soccer Teams Get Big Wins Over Dakota Wesleyan

The Concordia men and women’s soccer teams both beat the Dakota Wesleyan University Tigers 6-1 and 5-0 respectively Saturday afternoon. These big wins came after close games against Midland on Wednesday, including the women’s first loss of the season.

The women’s team had a strong performance in the first half. They only scored one goal in the half off a penalty kick, but they kept a consistently strong pressure on Dakota Wesleyan. Junior Ellie Eason scored that first goal for Concordia in the 11th minute.

The second half showed the fruits of the early pressure on the Tigers. Freshman Elena Ruiz scored the second goal in the 55th minute. Eason cinched a second goal for the day in the 65th minute. Junior Lina Kurst scored a nice fourth goal for the Bulldogs in the 69th minute with an assist from freshman Shi-Lynn Yon. Sophomore Kassidy Johnson scored the final goal of the night in the 78th minute with an assist from Kirst.

 Thomas Goines, head coach for the women’s team, achieved his 100th career win with this shutout against Dakota Wesleyan. 

“It’s a pretty awesome thing. Y’know you have goals when you start a career, and this has always been one of my goals. And ultimately it’s a proud moment. I think being with the girls is great and having my family here makes it very special too,” Goines said.

The men had to whittle down the Tigers’ defense before they were able to make those explosive plays, much like the women’s game. The Bulldogs only managed to make one goal in the first half, but unlike in the women’s game, Dakota Wesleyan managed to put a goal past goalkeeper Federico Simonetti.

Senior Abdel-Ahad Dominic and sophomore Martin Herrera were the stars of the men’s game. Dominic scored three goals in the 20th, 78th, and 89th minutes. Herrera scored back-to-back goals in the 72nd and 73rd minutes. Junior Matt Schulz also scored a goal in the 50th minute.

The men’s team is now 9-2 overall and 4-1 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference and the women’s is 7-1-2 overall and 2-1-2 in the GPAC. Both teams play again in Sioux City, Iowa against Morningside University on Oct. 5. Women play first at 5:30 p.m. with the men right after at 8 p.m.