November 3, 2006

INDIANOLA , IOWA . . . For the fourth consecutive year, Wartburg and Loras will meet in Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) men’s soccer Tournament Championship match after advancing through their semifinal matches on Friday at Simpson College. On the women’s side, Loras and Simpson advanced through the semifinals and will meet for the women’s Championship.

The men’s Championship match will be played Saturday at 4:30 p.m. followed by the women’s Championship match at 7:00 p.m. Saturday’s winners will be the Iowa Conference’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. The Wartburg men have advanced to the NCAA Tournament each of the last three years while the Loras men made their NCAA postseason debut last season. Loras and Simpson women are the only IIAC women’s teams to ever appear in the NCAA Tournament. Loras has qualified each of the last five years while Simpson qualified in 1999.

Men’s Semifinal – #2 Loras tied #3 Central, 1-1 (advanced on PK, 7-6) Box score
In the first semifinal match, #2-seed Loras and #3-seed Central tied 1-1 with Loras advancing to the finals in penalty kicks (7-6). Loras got on the board first with a Santiago Mejia goal in the 36th-minute off a pass from Nate Minkel from just inside the 18-yard mark. Central’s Clint Schreiber tied the game less than a minute later on a header off a free kick from Cody Stoermer. The second half and both overtimes were scoreless before the Duhawks ended the contest in the eighth round of the penalty kick. Kevin Smerko made five saves for Loras and Adam Chrestman made four saves for Central. The game was the first Iowa Conference men’s soccer Tournament game decided in penalty kicks since Luther advanced over Simpson in the semifinals of the 2002 Tournament. Loras improved to 13-3-2 and Central fell to 13-5-3.

Men’s Semifinal – #1 Wartburg def. #5 Luther, 4-0 Box score
Top-seeded Wartburg advanced to its fifth straight Conference Tournament Championship match with a 4-0 win over #5-seed Luther. The Knights took a 1-0 halftime lead following Harrison Kibombo-Lugujjo first of two goals on the day in the 33rd-minute. Luke McClyman (47th-minute) Kibombo-Lugujjo (53rd-minute) and Geoff Miller (83rd-minute) added second-half goals. Matt Shepard (72 minutes) and Trent Michael (18 minutes) each made three saves for Wartburg. Ben Parman had 10 stops for Luther. Wartburg improved to 16-2-1 and Luther fell to 7-13-1.

Women’s Semifinal - #2 Loras def. #3 Luther, 2-1 Box score
Second-seeded Loras secured a spot in the Conference Tournament Championship match for the sixth consecutive year behind a 2-1 win over #3-seed Luther. The Duhawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind goals from Holly Wilson in the 26th-minute and an insurance goal from Katee Whitney in the 52nd-minute on a corner kick from Jenna Kosek. Luther finally got on the board with a Kendra Dornfeld goal with 2:16 remaining. Torey Murray made two saves for Loras and Lilly Steinberg made one save for Luther. Loras improved to 10-7-1 and Luther dropped to 11-6-4.

Women’s Semifinal - #1 Simpson def. #4 Wartburg, 3-0 Box score
Top-seeded Simpson advanced to its first Tournament Championship match since 2000 with a 3-0 win over #4-seed Wartburg. The Storm scored early and did not look back with a goal in the 14th minute as Ashley Curran took a Heather Akes pass in front of the net. Alyssa Stoll scored in the 23rd-minute on an assist from Curran, who then added her second goal of the night in the 40th-minute. The teams played a scoreless second half. Simpson goalkeeper Whitney Franker made 10 saves and registered her school record 14th career shutout. Christina Ernst made five saves for Wartburg. Simpson improved to 11-5-2 and Wartburg fell to 11-8-1.

-30-