BELOIT, Wis. – The University of Dubuque men's soccer team put on an offensive show on Sunday, striking four times on the way to a dominant 4-1 road victory over the Beloit College Buccaneers.
The Spartans took control of the game from the opening whistle. At 5:15, Dubuque earned a throw-in that was sent into the penalty area. During the ensuing scramble, the ball fell to
Andre Elinoff, who fired a shot into the bottom-left corner to give the Spartans an early 1-0 lead. The Spartans continued to pressure the Buccaneers, and that pressure paid off in the 21st minute. At 20:14, the Beloit goalkeeper misplayed a pass that fell directly to Elinoff, who once again found himself in the right place at the right time. With an open net in front of him, Elinoff calmly finished the opportunity for his second goal of the day, extending the Spartans lead to 2-0. UD continued to push forward and added a third goal at 24:35.
Luka Tomic delivered a corner kick that found its way directly into the back of the net, giving the Spartans a commanding 3-0 lead. The Spartans continued to control the game from start to finish and carried their 3-0 lead into halftime.
The Spartans came out of halftime with the same intensity, finding the back of the net less than two minutes into the half, but the goal was called back for offside. Just moments later, at 47:59, UD added its fourth goal of the day.
Jake Polacek received the ball near midfield, dribbled past a Buccaneers defender, and used the open space in front of him to fire a powerful shot into the bottom-right corner. At 65:31, the Buccaneers got on the scoreboard. Their initial shot struck the post before the rebound fell to a Beloit player, who headed the ball into the back of the net to make it 4-1. The Spartans maintained control for the remainder of the match and made several substitutions to give players valuable playing time. The Spartans held on to secure the 4-1 victory.
Leading the way for the Spartans was
Andre Elinoff, who scored two goals in the victory.
Jake Polacek and
Luka Tomic each added a goal. In goal,
Riley Johnson made six saves, while
Luke Horn closed out the final 10 minutes without allowing a goal in his first collegiate game.
Up Next
The Spartans will wrap up their three-game road stretch on Saturday, October 3, when they travel to Grinnell to take on the Grinnell College Pioneers. The matchup will serve as the Spartans final test before conference play begins on Wednesday. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Springer Field.
