DUBUQUE, Iowa – The #1 seed University of Dubuque men's soccer team started their quest for an American Rivers Conference tournament championship this evening as they hosted the #4 seed Luther College Norse in the semifinals on a chilly night at Oyen Field. Luther came off an opening round win 4-0 over the Wartburg College Knights, whereas the Spartans were well rested with a first round bye. The Spartans would use a big second half to post the shutout of the Norse 3-0.
Both teams matched up well with each other as the first half was a defensive battle. The Spartans managed to get three shots off against the Norse defense including one shot on goal that had a chance to find the back of the net, but it was unsuccessful. At the break, both teams were knotted at 0-0. The second half, would start the same as neither team would gain any offensive momentum. The narrative would change in the 65
th minute when
Darren Gray would steal a pass and find a streaking
Gloire Luwara who put the ball over the goalie and into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead. The Spartans wasted little time and were on the attack again as
Draek Littler would score off his right foot thanks to assists from
Darren Gray and
Joel Skog-Johansson in the 69
th minute to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead with about 20 minutes to play. The Spartans kept the offense rolling as
Lucas Von Braun would score a goal in the 78
th minute off a great pass from
Axel Aaman to give the Spartans a comfortable 3-0 lead. The Spartan defense would stay strong, just as they have the entire game and would shutout the Norse and take the victory 3-0.
The Spartans shot the ball well tonight recording 11 shots with seven of those being on goal. The Spartans also added five corner kicks.
Christoffer Rastock got the shutout win giving up no goals and had four saves.
"Another great result for the team," commented head coach
Brad Johnson. "We've been working extremely hard and very committed to what we are doing. It's truly a team effort... not by just the guys on the field, but the entire team. Everyone is fully invested and this time of the year it's important to have that. All the credit goes to them, great mentality about it and a great belief in "the team" and we're excited to continue to move forward."
With the Spartan win, UD will host the American Rivers Conference Tournament Championship and host cross-town rival, #3 seed the Loras College Duhawks on Saturday, November 6 at a time to be determined. The #3 seed Duhawks won their semifinal match-up by beating the #2 seed Simpson College Storm earlier today by a final score of 3-0.
