November 6, 2004

STORM LAKE, IOWA . . . Wartburg College men’s soccer team and Loras College women’s soccer team won the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) soccer Tournament with victories in the Championship matches at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake on Saturday. Top-seeded Wartburg defeated third-seeded Loras, 2-0 in the men’s final and second-seeded Loras defeated top-seeded Luther, 3-2 in the women’s final.

After a scoreless first half of the men’s match, Wartburg netted the game’s first goal in the 49th minute on a Kirk Artist goal on an assist from Jeremy McEver. Verne Houston added an insurance goal for the Knights in the 62nd minute scoring on a penalty kick. Wartburg goaltender Collin Lane made eight saves in the victory. His counterpart, Kevin Smerko, made seven saves. Wartburg improved to 17-1-2 on the season, Loras finishes its season at 13-6-3.

Loras won a seesaw women’s match, avenging its lone regular season loss. Luther scored the lone first half goal on Katie Pettigrew’s first of two goals, a penalty kick in the 43rd minute. Loras took the lead with two goals in two-and-a-half minutes, the first by Michelle Wieser at 51:25 and the second by Katie Ryan at 53:53. Pettigrew’s second goal of the match at 59:07 tied the match at two. Loras’ Maria Prendergast scored the eventual game-winner on a penalty kick at 66:55. Loras improved to 18-1-2 on the season, Luther finishes its season at 13-5-1.

Loras goaltender Erin Hall made two saves and Luther’s netminder Lilly Steinberg made five save. Loras’ Jenni Wilberding and Luther’s Meg Craft recorded assists.

Wartburg and Loras receive the Iowa Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The national field will be announced by the NCAA Sunday evening. Wartburg is making its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, Loras is making its fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA postseason.

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