DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - The Loras men's soccer team opened the year with a pair of wins over Carroll and Albion and head into the weekend with a 2–0–0 form. Seniors Alex Bradley and Kyler Olson lead the Duhawk attack, scoring a combined five goals through the first two outings.

WEEKEND PREVIEW

Loras heads to Duluth, Minn. for the weekend to take part in the Advantage Emblem Cup, facing St. Scholastica and St. Norbert. The Saints have won the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference six seasons running and the Green Knights won the Midwest Conference Regular Season Championship last year.

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You can follow both matches on social media by following @LorasMWSoccer.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE SAINTS 

The Duhawks own an all-time record of 2–0 over the Saints. Both sides last met during the 2013 season opener on the road. After conceding a goal in the opening 45, Loras benefited from goals from Johnny Rummelhart in the 47th minute and Tim Van Den Bergh recorded the game-winner in the 79th minute.

SAINTS TO WATCH OUT FOR 

Armin Bobaric comes into this Saturday's match leading his team in points with two assists to go along with a goal. St. Scholastica goalkeeper, Corrado Rosato, owns a .889 save percentage after posting a shutout over Gustavus Adolphus last weekend, leading his team to a 1–1 record. Joining the Saints on the sidelines this season is Andrew Jenkins, who is St. Scholastica's all-time leading goal scorer, tallying 90 times in his four-year career.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE GREEN KNIGHTS 

Loras owns an all-time record of 7–1–1 against St. Norbert. The sides last met during the 2011 season in the Rock Bowl when the Duhawks won in convincing fashion 7–0. Donald St. George put in two goals for the Purple & Gold within the first 20 minutes of the match. His brace helped spark the offensive barrage that saw a total of 25 shots and six different goal scorers.

GREEN KNIGHTS TO WATCH OUT FOR 

St. Norbert has plenty of offensive fire power themselves which was displayed in their season opener at Lakeland, striking for seven goals in a 7–0 win. For the Green Knights, the combination of Sam Lamers, Ben Prange and Tyler Kassube have recorded three goals and three assists and are atop the team leaderboard with three points each. Before Sunday's match against Loras, the Green Knights face Wisconsin Lutheran on Wednesday and St. Olaf on Saturday.

Roscoe, Ill. native Kyler Olson has already doubled his goal total from the 2015 campaign. The senior has netted a goal in each of the last two matches for the Duhawks, which included the game-winner in Loras' 2–0 win over Carroll. To go along with his two goals, Olson also recorded an assist on Alex Bradley's strike on opening night.

BRADLEY LIVING UP TO THE HYPE

Two games into the season, senior Alex Bradley has began to build his case for post-season accolades. Bradley has scored on each of his three shots on goal to lead the Duhawks with six points. Two of his goals came with 23 seconds of each other during the Duhawks' 4–1 victory over Albion on Sunday. The Leighton Buzzard, U.K. native is already halfway to his 2015 total in goals, when he scored six goals.

DEEP DUHAWK ROSTER ONCE AGAIN IN 2016

The start of the 2016 campaign provided the Loras men's soccer team with ample opportunities to show off the depth of their roster. Loras averaged 24 substitutions a match in their first two outings against Carrol and Albion last week. The Loras opponents combined for an average of 11 exchanges in the same amount of time. This strategy is a staple for the Duhawk program. In the NCAA Division III National Championship game alone, Loras swapped players a total of 23 times, showing just how reliable the Duhawk bench can be.

NEW FACES ADAPTING ON THE FLY

Their is no doubt that the 2016 Loras men's soccer roster underwent a major transition this past off-season with 14 seniors having graduated. With that comes the excitement and intrigue of what new faces can provide in 2016 for the Duhawks. Through the first two games, a number of players have earned quality minutes, including senior transfer Chizobam Nkemeh, sophomore Ryan Ross and freshmen Anthony Berardi, Mark Histed, Kody Rife and Liam O'Connell. Their continued growth throughout the early portion of the schedule will be key later on in the season.

BRUNS EXCELLING IN NEW ROLE

Junior Ike Bruns knew coming into this season that he was going to have to take on a new role for the 2016 season. In his first two years, most of Bruns time on the pitch came as a substitute, but now has transitioned into a member of starting 11. In his first two games at defensive mid, Bruns has a pair of assists to go with three shots on goal.