DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - With a 4-1-1 record heading into the fourth week of the season, the Loras Men's Soccer team travels to Macomb, Illinois on Monday to face Western Illinois before returing to the Rock Bowl on Saturday to open the Iowa Conference portion of their schedule.

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS WESTERN ILLINOIS •••
Monday will mark the first meeting between Loras and Western Illinois. The two sides were originally schedule to meet in 2014, but poor weather cancelled the match.

SCOUTING THE LEATHERNECKS •••
Western Illinois lost a lot from their 2014 team, including Summit League Defensive Player of the Year Yves Dietrich. So far in 2015, Western has struggled to keep pace with their opponents' offensive production, scoring nine goals to their opponents' 15. Drew Whalen and Conrad Hager lead the Leathernecks with two goals a piece. Nathan Bergstrom registered the game-winner in their 4-1 win over University of Kansas City.

LAST MEETING VERSUS SIMPSON •••
Loras was a 1-nil winner over Simpson in 2014 thanks to a second-half goal from Mike Pizzello. The Duhawks outshot the Storm by a 17-5 margin, including an 11-3 advantage in shots on goal.

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS SIMPSON •••
Loras owns an 18-5-1 all-time record against Simpson and is currently on a 14-match winning streak. The last time a Simpson side defeated Loras was 2002.

SCOUTING THE STORM •••
The Storm feature a fairly balanced offensive attack, with their leading goal-scorer being Garrett Pochop, who has four goals and one assist in eight games. In total, 10 players have combined to score at least one tally so far this season. In goal, Simpson has featured three goalkeepers, with Zach McEntee appearing to have control over the starter's role. McEntee enters the week with a 3-2-1 overall record.

THE DUHAWK CONNECTION •••
Western Illinois Men's Soccer Head Coach, Dr. Eric Johnson, has significant ties to the Loras community. As the head coach of the Duhawks for five seasons, Johnson earned Iowa Conference Women's Soccer Coach of the Years in 1996. In addition, Johnson mentored the then-youthful Dan Rothert for four seasons before leaving for Western Illinois. Monday marks the first-ever meeting between Rothert and his mentor.

DEPAUW HANDS LORAS THEIR FIRST LOSS •••
Last Saturday the Duhawks were handed their first loss of the 2015 season, a 2-nil setback at the hands of DePauw University. In addition, Loras was shutout for the first time this season.

PLENTY OF PARITY IN TOP-25 •••
Through the first weeks of the 2015 season, there has been a number of upsets and surprising results in the world of Division III soccer. For starters, 11-time National Champion Messiah College has lost twice and settled for a scoreless draw, all results that are not traditionally marks from the program.  Preseason No. 2 Wheaton currently stands at 3-2-1 and suffered early loss to Wash.-St. Louis and Loras.

SPREADING THE WEALTH •••
Much like what has been the story for the past three seasons, Loras once again has proven to show their diversity in their offensive attack. Seven players have scored already and only three have tallied more than once. Last season, Loras greatly benefited from the play of Mike Pizzello, who finished with 14 goals.

GRUELING SCHEDULE AWAITS DUHAWKS IN 2015 •••
The schedule Head Coach Dan Rothert has assembled for his team in 2015 will be nothing short of grueling as it features five teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2014. While the team will certainly employ the "one game at a time" mentality, fans have circled numerous contests, such as their match with No. 2 Wheaton, as ones that will draw the eyes and ears of Division III soccer fans across the country. To Rothert's credit, the style has proven to be successful thanks to his teams' successes in the postseason in recent history.