DUBUQUE, Iowa - The University of Dubuque men's soccer team faced Simpson College on a rainy Tuesday night. The Spartans fought tooth and nail throughout the match, but in the narrowest of margins, they fell 1-0 to the Storm.
The first half between the Spartans and the Storm went back and forth, with UD having multiple strong opportunities on fast-breaks. One of the best chances of the half fell to Mario Meier at 23:10, who found himself with the ball to the left of the goal, where he struck the ball with some power, forcing the keeper to get low and make the save. On defense the the Spartans stood firm with Riley Johnson making two saves standing in goal.At the break, UD and Simpson were locked in a stalemate.
Picking up where they left off, both teams went back in forth with the Spartans dominating for multiple stretches of the match with Benny Duffy controlling the midfield. At 66:07, Jonatan Banuelos had a huge chance with a shot attempt that went by the goalkeeper, narrowly missing the inside of the goal posts. Shortly after, Simpson went up 1-0 at 68:59. Despite fighting to get the equalizer, the Spartans fell 1-0 at the final whistle.
Mario Meier led the team with three shots on the night. Both Lucas Albright and Jonatan Banuelos were right being Meier with two shots each.
Up Next
The Spartans will play UW-Whitewater in a non-conference match on Saturday, October 18. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Oyen Field.