SEWARD, Neb. — Dakota Wesleyan Men’s Soccer traveled down to Nebraska to face the top-seeded Concordia (Neb.) Bulldogs in the GPAC semifinals, marking DWU’s first appearance in the round since 2011.
The hosting Bulldogs controlled the pace of the game early, limiting DWU’s initial offensive surge while finding seams on subsequent counterattacks. Concordia would strike in the 14th minute to get on the board and take a 1-0 lead, and was able to extend it to 2-0 after another score in the 25th thanks to the early pressure from the Bulldogs. While CUNE found these goals on the DWU defense, the back line was able to settle in and shut the Bulldogs out offensively for the remainder of traditional play. Luis Waeschle led the attack for the Tigers on the opposite end initially, recording two of the team’s five first-half shots, but it was not enough to get Dakota Wesleyan on the board right away.
The second half would see a major shift in both pace and momentum, as the Tigers came out blazing to begin the second half. Evan Bolster recorded his 13th goal of the season just over five minutes into the half after a brilliant setup from Maximilian Nolle to set the score to 2-1, and Waeschle evened the match up at 2-2 with an unassisted strike less than four minutes later. The offensive pressure helped keep the Bulldogs off the back half of the pitch and give a helping hand to the defense. In the goal, Carter Hanson was able to tally eight saves on the day in a full-length start on 10 total shots, and while those first-half strikes put the Tigers behind, the monumental efforts of both Hanson and the team’s main defenders — Noah Gusterer, Jonas Keinz, Michel Glasing, and David Lennon — kept the opposition at bay to give the offense more opportunities as the contest went on. All five on the back half recorded full 110-minute appearances, and while the offense would stall out towards the end of the half, the defense continued to prevent Concordia from reclaiming a lead of any kind. Both teams scored tries at the opposing net in the final half of gametime, but, ultimately, regulation would end with the score still tied at 2-2.
In overtime, neither team was able to find a crease in the other’s defense, keeping a similar pace to the end of the second half. Concordia found a bit more control, but even then, they were still not able to find an answer to win on a golden goal. After two 10-minute periods, the match was sent to penalty kicks, marking the second straight game that DWU had forced such a finish after their win against Briar Cliff in the quarterfinal round. The Bulldogs would start and nail their first four penalty kicks, but the Tigers would strike back each time, with Waeschle sinking the first penalty, followed by Korbinian Rieder, Nolle, and Bolster. Hanson was able to record a save on CUNE’s final penalty kick near the right post, setting up the win for the Tigers. Aidan Bennett struck on penalty kick number five, securing the win, stunning the ranked Bulldogs, and advancing to the first GPAC championship game appearance in the program’s history.
DWU Men’s Soccer will face the second-seeded Dordt Defenders in the GPAC Men’s Soccer Championship on Tuesday, November 10th, starting at 6:00 PM in Sioux Center, Iowa.