Concordia Women’s soccer defeats Dakota State in a 2-0 senior day victory

Concordia women’s soccer seniors with their coaches on Senior Day

Photo: Max Frische

By Ransom Watts 

Control of the ball and dominance in the attack were the name of the game for the Concordia women’s soccer 2026 Senior Day game. The Saturday game ended in a 2-0 victory for the Bulldogs due to two second-half goals

From the start of the first half, the Bulldogs set themselves up comfortably in Dakota State’s half of the field, where they took advantage of well-placed passes to put pressure on the goal.  

Concordia rode the momentum until the final minutes of the first half, when they racked up three near-fatal shots to put the Trojans on edge going into halftime.  

Even though the first half ended scoreless, the Bulldogs’ offensive control was reflected in the scorecard. Concordia held a 7-1 advantage in first-half shots over Dakota State. The Bulldogs’ defense was also on top of their game and allowed zero corner kicks compared to the two allowed by the Trojans in the first half.   

Right from the start of the second half, the Bulldogs continued to bring the pressure to the Trojans’ defense in the attacking third. The women looked calm and confident as they kept the ball away from the Trojans and combined precise passes with aggressive drives up the middle toward the goal.  

On one of these drives, sophomore forward Abby Haynes took advantage of a gap in the Trojan defense to pass the ball to her teammate, freshman Molli Kalsbeck. Kalsbeck lined up a shot just off the centerline that reached over the goalie’s hands into the net to give her second career goal and put the Bulldogs up 1-0. 

Coach Jason Weides had great things to say about the Bulldog’s aggression at the Trojan end of the field during the game. 

“We took a step forward in our attack,” Weides said. “Our attacking transitions today were much better.”  

The aggressive transitions to the attack certainly continued as the second half progressed, and Concordia got even more comfortable in Dakota State’s half of the field. The best of the Bulldog’s communication and chemistry was on display, especially along the sideline where the Bulldogs continued to break through towards the center to set up scoring opportunities towards the goal.  

One of these breakthroughs occurred when sophomore Guadalupe Sanchez pulled past the Trojans’ center midfielder and squeezed off a pass that found her teammate, junior Kyana Rios, who was squared up to the goal, ready to attack. Rios goaded the goalkeeper with a quick pump fake, took a step to wind up the shot, and sent the ball sailing into the goal.  

With the Bulldogs up 2-0 and having just witnessed the sneaky move from Rios, the crowd was understandably exuberant. Rios remained calm and cool about her play after the game, though.   

“I don’t know, it’s just instinct,” Rios said. “Just practicing over and over again. So it just happened in the game.”  

Rios did have high praise for her teammates, however.  

“We were connecting really well in the middle and then my teammate Lupe [Sanchez], she just set the pass downward,” Rios said. “I knew I had to make the run in the middle and just touch and shoot, hoping it was gonna go in, and it did.”  

With a comfortable 2-0 lead, the Bulldogs did not relent and continued to showcase their excellent pass game and chemistry. As indicated by their total of five corner kicks in the second half, the Bulldogs were also consistently at Dakota State’s end of the field. Overall, Concordia had a combined seven corner kicks to the Trojans’ one, and a total of 12 shots against their two.  

After a successful game, Weides mostly had his seniors to thank.  

“This senior group has been together for most of the four years, and has shed a lot of blood, sweat, and tears for this program,” Weides said. “We’re really proud of what they’ve added, both their talents on the field and their support off the field.” 

Next week, the Bulldogs will face the Dordt Defenders in Sioux City, Iowa, to begin the 11 weeks of Great Plains Athletic Conference play leading up to the GPAC Championships.