Spartans Clinch 1st Round Bye in IIAC Tournament
Oct 20, 2012 | J.Crane
STORM LAKE, IOWA – The University of Dubuque Men’s Soccer team made the long trip to Buena Vista (5-10-1, 0-6 in the IIAC) on Saturday and came back with a 6-1 victory. The Spartan victory puts UD in position for shot at the Iowa Conference regular season title; UD must win at Loras on Tuesday night to claim a share of the IIAC title. The Spartans are now 11-4-1 overall on the season. Dubuque is currently a game out of first place in the IIAC at 5-1.
The Spartans wasted little time putting their mark on the game with Brandon Wiley (Mannheim, Germany/Mannheim) scoring in the 6th minute of action. The goal by Wiley was his first of the year and was assisted by Alex Cordero (Bloomington, Ill./Normal West).
Dubuque continued to pressure Buena Vista early with three quick shots following the Wiley goal before Cory Winkler (Lakeville, Minn./Apple Valley) was able to connect on a shot to put UD ahead 2-0. Assisting on the goal were Nick McDonald (Cary, Ill./Cary Grove) and Jack Stefanski (Wauconda, Ill./Carmel).
Leading 2-0, McDonald would put the game out of reach with goals in the 14th and 28th minute of play. McDonald now has an IIAC leading 21 goals on the season and nine in conference only games. Winkler assisted on McDonald’s second goal.
UD went into halftime with a 4-0 lead on the scoreboard while holding an 18-4 advantage in shots and a 6-0 lead in corner kicks.
After a Beaver goal to start the second period, the Spartans quickly answered back with a goal by Derek Garcia (Mission Viego, Calif./Tesoro) that was set-up by a pass from his brother Tyler Garcia (Mission Viego, Calif./Tesoro). Freshman Daniel Morris (Heidelberg, Germany/Heidelberg) capped the UD scoring in the 84th minute to give UD a 6-1 lead.
Jake O’Rourke (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gormon) finished with two saves and one goal allowed in 90 minutes in goal. The win was the 11thof the year for O’Rourke. He is third in the IIAC with a 1.11 goals against average and .750 save percentage.
McDonald led the Spartans with eight shots, three shots on goal, two goals and one assist. Wiley, Winkler, and Peter Hager (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo) each finished with two shots on goal.
UP NEXT: The Spartans will take on Iowa Conference leading #4 Loras College (16-1-1, 6-0-0) on Tuesday night at Loras. Game time is 8:00 pm. The game is the last regular season contest for each team as the IIAC Tournament will begin on Saturday, October 27th. UD and Loras have each clinched first round byes and will play a yet to be determined opponent on Wednesday, October 31st.
GAME NOTES: UD is 6-3-3 all-time against Buena Vista… The Spartans have won six straight vs. BV outscoring them 23-3 in those games… McDonalds 21 goals on the season are one away from the single season record of 22 by Nicholas Cookston in 2006… Winkler’s 9 goals are tied for ninth all-time… The Spartans set a new school record for assists in the season with 42, the old record was 39 in 2010… UD will be making its sixth straight appearance in the Iowa Conference Tournament…
