DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - After opening their season with back-to-back wins, the Loras Men's Soccer team continues with two home matches this week. Tuesday night will feature a matchup against the No. 2 Wheaton College Thunder, while Friday pits the Duhawks against Saint John's University.
ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST WHEATON •••The Duhawks have a (6-3-1) record all-time against the Thunder. Loras currently holds a three-game winning streak in the series, with the side's last meeting during the 2013 season.
LAST MEETING VERSUS WHEATON •••Loras last met Wheaton during the 2013 season. Playing in Wheaton, the Duhawks defeated the Thunder by a final score of 2-nil. Goals were scored by Erik Berkowitz and
Tom Fluegel. Loras was led by Dylan Milkent in goal, tallying seven saves. Current Duhawks in the mix last time around include seniors
Richard Lenke who notched an assist and
Johnny Rummelhart who added two shots with one on goal.
SCOUTING THE THUNDER •••The reigning Division III runner-up's opened the season #2 in the NSCAA pre-season polls. Wheaton will travel to Dubuque following a 3-2 overtime loss at the hands of Washington University in St. Louis. This is the second straight season in which the Thunder split their opening series at the Bob Baptista Invitational. Overall, Wheaton graduated six starters from last season's second-place team, and ten senior's altogether. Early in the season it's possible that Wheaton is still searching for their identity as they adjust to the loss of three First Team All-CCIW players.
ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST SAINT JOHN'S •••Loras holds a (4-1-0) record all-time against the Johnnies, dating back to the 2002 season. The Duhawks have won each of the past four meetings between the two teams following a loss in the team's initial meetings.
LAST MEETING VERSUS SAINT JOHN'S •••Last season the Duhawks travelled to Collegeville, Minnesota. to face the Johnnies. Following a 1-nil deficit at halftime, Loras tallied two second half goals to move to (6-1-0) on the season. Goals from sophomore
Spencer Moore and junior
Alex Bradley were assisted by seniors
Matt Brant and
Richard Lenke. St. John's registered just three shots on goal.
SCOUTING THE JOHNNIES •••St. John's was chosen to finish third in the MIAC for the 2015 soccer season, behind Gustavus Adolphus and St. Olaf. The Johnnies have had luck on their side thus far into the season, winning two of the first three games in overtime. Their one loss came at the hands of Milwaukee School of Engineering, who defeated the Johnnies by a final score of 3-nil. St. John's has a very young squad this season, featuring just five seniors. So far there have been some struggles in the net for the Johnnie's, as goalkeeper Kevin Lebahn has allowed five goals in three games with a .643 save percentage.
SWARM MENTALITY STILL IN EFFECT •••Over the past three seasons, opponents have been forced to adjust to Loras' high-tempo approach, which is successful in part to the depth that Head Coach
Dan Rothert has recruited. 2015 will see much of the same depth with nine underclassmen on the varsity roster who can all contribute to the teams' success, both on offense and defense.
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.
