Contact: Emily Adlfinger, Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7970 (Written by Simon Schuler, Athletic Communications Student Assistant)

Mar. 27, 2021 - In the Duhawk head coaching debut of Steven McCarthy, the Loras College men's soccer team (1-0-0, 1-0-0 A-R-C) tallied four goals in the second half after a scoreless first period, defeating American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) foe Nebraska Wesleyan University (0-1-0, 0-1-0 A-R-C) 4-1 for their first victory of the 2020 (Spring 2021) season. 

The Duhawks displayed an aggressive attack on offense from the beginning of the match, tallying four shots on goal within the first twenty minutes against the Prairie Wolves. The defense of the Duhawks proved strong as they held the Prairie Wolves to only one shot on goal in the first period. After a number of close shots for the Duhawks, the score remained deadlocked zero after the first half. 

Following 11 shots in the first half, the Duhawks finally broke through the Prairie Wolves' defense, punching the ball through the net courtesy of Patrick Clancy at the 47:50 mark of the second half. The Duhawk momentum carried on two minutes later as Mount Horeb, Wis. native Kyler Donovan netted another goal off of a Duhawk corner kick which pushed the lead to 2-0. Senior Juan Jose Arias continued the strong Duhawk attack, notching a goal at the 52:41 mark off of an assist from fellow Colombia native Jose Melo. With a three goal lead over the Prairie Wolves, a strike by Tigrio Huerta added another goal for the Duhawks, assisted by Kevin Kucaba. A goal by the Prairie Wolves late in the second half proved not enough as the Duhawks came away with a 4-1 victory in the first match of the season.

The Duhawks were led by back-to-back goals from Clancy and Donovan as well as nets from Arias and Huerta along with an assist each from Melo and Kucaba. In total, the Duhawks manufactured 27 shots, with 13 on goal, to five by the Prairie Wolves. Arias led the Duhawks in shots on goal with five, followed by three apiece from both Clancy and Huerta. 

The Duhawks will resume match play on Tuesday, Mar. 30 as they host conference rival Luther College Norse at the Rock Bowl. The match is scheduled to kick-off at 5:00 PM in Dubuque, Iowa.