DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - After a first round bye in the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament, the Loras men's soccer team advanced to the "Sweet 16" on Sunday, defeating Carthage, 3-1. Senior Richard Lenke struck a right-footed shot to open the scoring and added an assist on senior Justin Giacotto's insurance goal in the second half.

TURNING POINT
A key to Loras' success all season long has been their ability to jump on opposing teams early. With Lenke's goal in the 12th minute, the Duhawks grabbed the early lead and never looked back.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Off the opening whistle, Loras commanded the possession early, using their athletic prowess to their advantage. The Duhawks' biggest advantage came in the midfield where they dictated the course of play in the air. The play of seniors Bryan Irwin and Jorge Simon helped Loras maintain possession and continue the offense moving forward.

Minutes after Irwin registered the first shot on goal, Lenke found himself with the ball at the top of box. After going shoulder-to-shoulder with his mark, Lenke was sent to the ground and drew a free kick two yards out of the box.

Free-kick master Simon attempted to beat the wall by sending his free kick low, but a deflection off the wall was flipped back to Lenke by senior Kevin Higgins. On the full-volley, Lenke blasted his shot into the upper-90, beating Carthage's Niko Mavrogiannis for the first tally of the match.

Minutes later, the Duhawks benefited from a mishit from junior Kyler Olson that fell to the feet of junior Alex Bradley down near the end line. On the first touch, junior Alex Bradley directed a pass back towards the front of goal and connected with junior Austin Jacobi who beat Mavrogiannis to the post for the insurance goal.

The remainder of the half saw Loras continue to dominate the course of play without much resistance from the Red Men side. The Duhawks closed with 10 shots in the opening 45 with six on target.

Second Half
Right off the opening whistle in the second half, Loras earned themselves a corner kick less than a minute into play. Lenke delivered his service to the back post where senior Justin Giacotto rose to the top of the crowd and directed his header into the twine to give the Duhawks a 3-nil lead.

The three-goal deficit served as a catalyst for Carthage, who responded with a renewed sense of urgency and started to find success in the offensive portion of their game. The Red Men recorded five shots and two corner kicks over the next 20 minutes of play to Loras' one shot on goal.

In the 75th minute, Carthage's Ivan Chavez was taken to the ground by Simon inside the penalty area and the center official whistled immediately for a penalty kick. Jake Bukiri immediately came up from his defending position and slotted home the penalty to cut Loras' lead to two.

FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYER OF THE GAME
Richard Lenke | With his full-volley blast in the 12th minute, Lenke opened the scoring for Loras and used the momentum to bolster his game. The senior was all over the pitch, creating chances with his pressure alone. He later added an assist on the goal by Giacotto.

SOUND BITES | Richard Lenke & Dan Rothert


UP NEXT
Loras advances to the sectional round of the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in program history and will face DePauw next Friday, Nov. 20. In their regular season meeting, DePauw handed the Duhawks a 2-nil setback. Loras has been chosen by the NCAA to host the sectional round, bringing Wheaton and St. Olaf back to the Rock Bowl after both teams traveled to Dubuque in the regular season.