Men’s soccer ends game against Briar Cliff in a stalemate, 1-1
Sophomore defender Michael Wyvil (5) maneuvers the ball around a Briar Cliff player.
Photo credit: Josiah Seabaugh
By Cohen Carpenter
Concordia soccer came to yet another stalemate Saturday night after a 1-0 lead became a 1-1 final against the Briar Cliff Chargers.
The homecoming matchup marks the third straight Concordia contest without a winner, which is the longest such streak in head coach’s Jason Weides’ tenure, which dates back to 2008.
“It certainly was a game we are disappointed with,” said head coach Jason Weides in his post-game interview with Jake Knabel. “At the end of the day, we deserved a draw. We made some critical mistakes that gave them a chance and we couldn’t quite put that second goal away. We had some chances to do that. We fought hard with good intensity. We just came up short, we’re saying that too often. You tie your seventh game of the year, it’s frustrating.”
The draw against Briar Cliff brings the Bulldogs’ record to an unprecedented 2-2-7 and 1-0-3 in the conference. The last Great Plains Athletic Conference team to garner seven ties in a season was 2022 Morningside, who, across 19 total games played, netted a 4-8-7 overall record. Concordia has reached that same figure in only 11 games.
The achievement is so rare in fact that 2022 Morningside and 2024 Concordia are the only two teams in the history of the modern GPAC (since 2000) to achieve such a record. No team has ever had eight ties in a season.
The scoring began early on Saturday night in the 22nd minute when senior D’Andre Williams. The first half goal was the Canadian’s second of the season which he set up himself with the hockey assist. A massive strike by Willaims from beyond midfield set the ball up for junior Oliver Benson who drove into the box and found Williams streaking towards the goal and connected for a beautiful 25-yard strike.
However, as recent history dictated, the 1-0 lead did not last. In the 51st minute, the Chargers scored the equalizer courtesy of Yalin Alici. Alici mustered two shots on goal Saturday night, half of Briar Cliff’s team total of four, it was the second of these shots that found the back of the net.
As a team, both clubs were well-matched, both having eight shots and four shots on goal. Similarly, both keepers saw one ball blister past them, and both had three saves.
Despite the similar numbers, the Chargers had seldom few clean looks at the Bulldog goal thanks to the efforts of Concordia sweeper Michael Wyvil. The sophomore from Lincoln, fresh off his GPAC defensive player of the week award, had yet another active day in the Concordia backfield ensuring one goal was all Briar Cliff was able to muster.
Following the equalizer, Concordia put up four more Bulldogs fired their shots – Hugo Garrote who missed wide left, Youssef Heggy whose shot got scooped up by the keep, a header from Aidan Nachi which missed wide left and most painfully, another shot from D’Andre Williams which hit the top crossbar in the 88th minute.
Just like coach suggested in the post-game interview, the Bulldogs have been close. However, unlike in horseshoes and hand grenades, soccer has ties. Though frustrating, it is important to note that ties are not in fact, losses. As it stands following the Briar Cliff matchup, the Bulldogs rank sixth in the GPAC with a conference record of 1-0-3. Concordia being unbeaten in the GPAC means no other conference foe has a tiebreaker against Concordia, which could prove huge come playoff time.
The Bulldogs will look to snap the draw streak next time out versus Dakota Wesleyan. Concordia takes on the 4-4-2 Tigers in Mitchell, South Dakota on Saturday, October 5. First touch is at 5:30pm.
