Contact: Nathan Cameron, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7243

Oct. 30, 2021 - Postseason play got under way at the Rock Bowl Saturday afternoon as the Loras College men's soccer team (11-6-2, 6-2-1 A-R-C) played host to the Nebraska Wesleyan University Prairie Wolves (5-8-3, 2-5-2 A-R-C) in the opening round of the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Men's Soccer Tournament. After regulation saw the score at a 2-2 stalemate, sophomore forward Reed Miklavcic scored the game-winner in double overtime to secure the win and advance the Duhawks in the Tournament to face the No. 2 seeded Simpson College Storm on Wednesday, Nov. 3. 

The Duhawks jumped ahead midway through the first half as Juan Jose Arias Mondragon took a shot that was blocked by a Prairie Wolves defender with the deflection falling right back into his lap to take another shot that found the back of the net to put the Duhawks up 1-0 after 22 minutes of play where the score stayed through the remainder of the half. 

Nebraska Wesleyan scored the equalizer in the 57th minute of the game as Alex Kohler set up for a free kick and found Logan Lawrence who scored on a header to tie the game at 1-1. 

Later in the half, as the Duhawks continued to put pressure on the Nebraska Wesleyan defense, a ball came up and hit the hand of a Prairie Wolves defender to put the Duhawks on the penalty kick dot where Kevin Kucaba put the Duhawks again at 2-1 in the 71st minute before Nebraska Wesleyan scored the tying goal five minutes later on another set piece that found the head of Caleb Vos. 

With the score tied at 2-2 at the end of regulation, the game went into the first overtime period of the game but the score remainded at a stand-still to force a second overtime to take place. Two minutes into the second overtime, Michael Koutsopanagos charged the ball to the right side of the box and put across a ball for Kevin Kucaba, who fed a pass to Jose Melo to put back into the box where Alex Beausoleil headed a pass to Miklavcic to head past Nebraska Wesleyan keeper Zachary Weis and secure the 3-2 victory and advance in the postseason. 

The Duhawks commanded the game offensively, taking 30 shots in the game with 11 on net while holding the Prairie Wolves to just nine shots total. As is commonplace for postseason play, the game was a physical one with a total of 39 fouls called in the game with no cards shown. Mondragon's 22nd minute goal marks his ninth on the season to tie Patrick Clancy for the most goals on the team while Kucaba's goal on the penalty kick comes as his second of the season. Miklavcic's game-winner brings his total to three on the season and marks his first game-winning goal of the year. 

Saturday's win sees the Duhawks advance to the Tournament Semifinals where they will face the No. 2 seeded Simpson College Storm. Start time of the game is still TBA and will take place on Nov. 3 in Indianola, Iowa.