DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - Quality victories can do a lot for a program early on in their season, and that's exactly what the Loras Men's Soccer (2-0-0) team earned on Friday night against St. Olaf (1-1-0). With goals from seniors Austin Jacobi and Kevin Higgins, the Duhawks had all the offense they needed for a 2-nil victory.

St. Olaf entered Friday night riding high after their 4-nil defeat of Luther College earlier in the week. The result, a very competitive opening 15 that saw both sides give up runs in their offensive thirds. It wasn't until the 35th minute that Loras capitalized on their offensive pressure.

After earning a throw-in deep in St. Olaf territory, junior Calvin Miller delivered a ball to the near-post where senior Justin Giacotto was waiting to head it back towards the middle of the pitch. Luckily for Loras, Jacobi followed the ball the entire way and met it with his head and sent it into the back of the net to give the Duhawks the 1-nil lead late in the first half.

The one-goal lead was appearing to be enough for Loras as they continued to limit the number of offensive chances for St. Olaf in the second half. Senior Jacob Peterson benefited from the defense in front of him, that limited the Oles to just eight shots total on the night and three on target.

Extended pressure from Loras in the offensive third earned them a throw-in in the 73rd minute. After the toss from Miller, both teams met in the air inside the 18. A header directed on goal was originally saved by St. Olaf goalkeeper Ben Braman, but he could not keep the second attempt away as Higgins delivered the insurance goal to make it 2-nil Duhawks.

The final 15 saw a hard battle continue, but Loras' defense stood tall and kept the clean sheet intact for Peterson's first shutout of his Loras career.

GOAL SUMMARY
35' | LOR | Austin Jacobi (Justin Giacotto) | Cross to near post flicked back on target and headed home
73' | LOR | Kevin Higgins (Unassisted) | Long throw-in results in header from Loras that is saved, Higgins puts back the second attempt

KEY SAVES AND PLAYS
7' | LOR | Calvin Miller is booked for a foul on Kevin Skrip, forcing the defender to play the remaining 83 minutes with caution
53' | LOR | Richard Lenke finds himself in great position near goal and forces Ben Braman to go up and to his left to keep his header out of the back of the net
54' | LOR | Following Lenke's header, Loras continues with the pressure, earning three corner kicks and have four shots blocked

THE FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYER OF THE GAME
Austin Jacobi | Provided a boost of energy during his time on the field and recorded the game-winning goal late in the first half

LINEUPS
LOR | Jacob Peterson (GK), Sam Koenig, Johnny Rummelhart, Jorge Simon, Alex Bradley, Richard Lenke, Tyler Cruikshank, Justin Giacotto, Spencer Moore, Calvin Miller, Bryan Irwin
STO | Ben Braman (GK), Kevin Skrip, Sam Kaplan, Aaron Miller, Tylor Rosera, Aaron Stets, Brenden Johnson, Jens Undlin, Claudio Barboza, Trevor Stewart, Eric Frank

UP NEXT
Loras will enjoy the weekend off from competition and prepare to host No. 2 Wheaton on Tuesday night in the Rock Bowl. The Thunder are coming off a 2014 season where they were the national runner-up to Tufts. In their first game of the season on Friday night, Wheaton were 3-1 winners over Bethel University.