Men’s team
The third-seeded Northwestern men’s soccer team saw their excellent season come to a stunning end at the hands of sixth-seeded Concordia 1-0 in the GPAC tournament quarterfinals.
A 74th-minute header by Concordia defender Sean Doran from a free kick was the difference in the game. NW had a few chances to equalize late in the game, but could never find the back of the net. Leading up to Doran’s late goal, the run of play was relatively equal, with Concordia edging the Red Raiders in overall shots 12-11, and NW with the shots on goal advantage at 6-5.
The Red Raiders finished their season at 12-6-1, a school record of five consecutive seasons with 10 or more wins. The seniors who finished their careers for NW in the loss were Alex Benson, Aaron Bosch, Ben Fetter, Nate Huyser, Leo Sanchez-Perry and Josh Potter.
Loss at Midland
The Red Raiders finished third in the GPAC standings with a loss to Midland on Oct. 31. With the victory, Midland claimed the second seed in the GPAC tournament and home-field advantage through the conference semi-finals.
Midland scored the only goal of the contest in the 74th minute, before seeking out some late NW chances to hang on for the win. The forward duo of sophomore forward Landon Sibole and freshman forward Tyler Limmer led the Red Raider offense with three shots each. However, the Warriors outshot NW 18-12 in the match. Freshman goalkeeper Matt Scott had six saves on the evening.
Women’s team
A goal with under three minutes remaining by freshman forward Cherish Henry saw the Northwestern women’s soccer team defeat Midland 1-0, and wrap up the third seed in the GPAC conference tournament.
Sophomore goalkeeper Naomi Schimmel made nine huge saves throughout the match to preserve her seventh shutout of the season. Overall, the Red Raiders were outshot 18-9, and 9-5 in shots on goal. Henry and senior midfielder Michaela Gibson led NW with two shots each in the contest.
With the victory, NW finished the regular season at 9-6-3 and locked up home-field advantage for the first round of the GPAC playoffs for when they took on Dordt last night, who they beat 2-0 earlier this year.
