DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - The 25th-ranked Loras men's soccer team won its ninth consecutive match on Wednesday night in the Iowa Conference Tournament Semifinal, blanking Simpson, 3-0. Sophomore Mark Broderick netted his sixth goal in his last nine appearances and sophomore Mark Histed added an insurance tally late in the second half.

STARTING XI
1 - Peterson / 2 - Berardi / 4 - McDonnell
5 - Pacholski / 7 - O'Connell / 9 - Simon
13 - Moore / 19 - Broderick / 23 - Bruns
25 - Galvez / 26 - Lopez

POST MATCH COMMENTARY (Link)


MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
-In the sixth minute, freshman Manny Lopez provided pressure in the box, as the ball bounced around, a Simpson defender knocked it in for an own goal which gave Loras the early lead
-From about 25 yards out, sophomore Mark Broderick corralled a loose ball and fired a rocket to the back of the net to double the Duhawk lead for his eighth goal of season
-Duhawk defensive line held strong throughout the first half, allowing Simpson two shots on goal, both of which were saved by Duhawk keeper, Jacob Peterson
-After being held to nothing the first 22 minutes of the second half, the Duhawks found the back of the net once again as freshman Danny Chavarria sent a free kick to the box and connected with sophomore Mark Histed who sent home the header for his third goal of the season
-Senior keeper Jacob Peterson held the back line for the Duhawks all night, saving all eight shots he faced

NOTABLES
-After prevailing 3-nil tonight, the Duhawks have not lost to the Storm since 2003
-Senior Jacob Peterson has now held teams scoreless in six of his last eight matches lowering his goals against average to 1.20 on the season … Peterson's eight saves in the match tonight matches his second most for the season, bringing him to 77 stops on the year … In his career, the River Forest native has 189 saves
-Sophomore Mark Broderick continues his hot streak, tallying his sixth goal in his last nine appearances
-With the win, the Duhawks advanced to their 14th consecutive IIAC Tournament Championship … Since 2002, Loras is 8-5-1 in title matches
-Saturday will mark the third meeting between the Duhawks and Luther in the IIAC Tournament Championship match with each side coming away with one victory

FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYER OF THE GAME - JACOB PETERSON
The Fenwick prep held strong all night for the Duhawks as he made eight saves, just one shy of his season high coming against Wartburg on Oct. 17 where he saved nine. Peterson improved his goals against average to 1.20 on the season as he helped lead the Duhawks to their 10th clean sheet of the season

UP NEXT
Loras will head to Decorah where they will take on Luther in the IIAC Tournament Championship. Luther is coming off of a 2-nil semifinal victory over Nebraska Wesleyan on Wednesday. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.