Eagles draw attention

The glow of Concordia University’s national championship in baseball a few months ago has not dimmed, but there is another team on campus that is looking to keep the spotlight on the Irvine school.

Concordia’s women’s soccer team was ranked No. 7 in the national NAIA poll earlier this week, the highest ranking in the program’s history. But the team’s goals are bigger than that.

The Eagles have national championship aspirations, and their fast start has reinforced their belief it can be done.

The Eagles are 7-1 in their first eight games, including a victory over No. 3 Concordia University-Oregon (Portland). They’ve outscored their opponents 27-5.

“I think the seniors have bought in to what we’re trying to do here,” said Concordia director of soccer Chris Gould. “Last year was frustrating for us. We didn’t lose to a team outside the top 10 in either the NAIA or NCAA. But we were 11-6, which was misleading. We had a good team. These kids have returned motivated to get to nationals.”

Gould said the fast start doesn’t mean his team is playing at its best, at least not yet.

“In the beginning we weren’t punished for mistakes we made and not playing at our best; we had some luck,” Gould admitted. “We are where we are (No. 7 in nation) because of the Concordia-Portland game. That really was a turning point for our kids, knowing that they can play at a high level. It generated momentum and got the kids excited that they could do it.”

The Eagles’ only loss came in a 2-1 overtime setback at No. 14 Embry-Riddle on Sept. 9.

“To fly across the country (Florida) and do all that, it gave the kids an idea of what the national tournament will be like,” Gould said. “Our kids were disappointed with how that game ended. It’s not that Embry-Riddle played poorly; I thought they played well. It was a learning lesson for the kids. In the long run I’m hoping it’ll be a positive experience. It was a good college soccer game.

“Good teams learn lessons from a loss, bad teams make the same mistakes.”

In their only game since the loss, the Eagles routed Warner Southern, 7-0. It was their fifth shutout in their seven wins this season, defense being the key to the Eagles’ success.

“(Goalkeeper) Bekah (Garvin) is going to end up setting all sorts of records at the school,” Gould said. “We have a good goalkeeper and a good defensive unit, we’re a strong defensive team. We don’t like being without the ball and if we lose it we get it back as soon as possible.

“That mentality has helped us limit goals because we don’t let teams play. It’s reassuring because we don’t fear any team. We have confidence knowing how good our back six or seven players are.”

Audrey McKay, Kyleen Button, Breana Ellis and Felicia Franco have helped lead the defense.

Offensively, Loren Kortizija has led the way with 15 points (six goals, three assists), followed by Rachel Hook (12 points; five goals, two assists) and Bri Lopez (nine points; four goals, one assist).

“We have a lot of kids playing well right now,” Gould said. “Everybody is on a confidence high, it’s become infectious with the whole group. We want to keep the momentum going.”

The Eagles are currently in the middle of nine-day break between games, a schedule implemented purposely by Gould so his players could rest both physically and mentally heading into Golden State Athletic Conference play.

Concordia will play one more big nonconference game — Wednesday at No. 8 Cal State San Marcos — before opening GSAC play at home vs. Biola on Oct. 1.

Concordia is aiming for a conference title, but has one giant obstacle standing in the way — Azusa Pacific University, the No. 1-ranked team in the country. They play each other only once — at APU on Oct. 26, the second-to-last conference game of the season.

To add to the drama, Concordia has never beaten APU, and this might be the last time the Eagles get the chance to play the Cougars. APU is leaving the NAIA for NCAA Division II after this season.

“One of our goals as a program is to play for the conference title,” Gould said. “We know when we play [APU] will be in position to win the conference. Our goal is to be in position as well.”

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Joe Haakenson is a freelance reporter.