A Rivalry Reignited

First of all, apologies for the delay in the post. The author has been on the road for the last week and did not make time to post, so please accept his deepest regrets for his tardiness. Adding to the misfortune, the game last Saturday at Wartburg was a battle worth watching and reading about. Luther headed down to Waverly with heads held high after an impressive away win at Central earlier in the week, and looked to continue their winning ways against Wartburg. The winner of this game would most likely be locked in at 3rd place in the conference, which would be Luther's best finish in recent years.
The weather was almost as unkind to the Wartburg field as it has been to Luther's this fall, and it was to be another sloppy mudfest which made it difficult for either team to play. After the Luther women's thrilling victory over the nationally ranked Wartburg women, the men looked to replicate the feat over a team that won an at-large bid to the national tournament last year.
The boys fought hard and were supported well by a traveling base of fans who made it to the game in the nick of time. With a couple chances for either side, the first half would end with a nil-nil tie. The second half began in heated fashion, with intense, individual battles happening all over the field. After losing senior defender Gabe Less to injury in the first half, the makeshift back line was challenged in the second. Early in the half Jimmy Laroque beat a player on top of the box and hit a shot well to the low corner, but the Wartburg keeper did well to parry the shot wide of the goal. But there looked to be rouble when Luther lost possession in their own third, the Wartburg forward received the ball on top of the box, turned the Luther defender, and had only Steve O'Meara to beat. He finished the ball near post and put Wartburg up 1-0 in the 51st minute.
Luther continued to battle and were not easily defeated. Then in the 70th minute, junior midfielder Alex Case dropped a ball in behind the Wartburg defense and into a charging Saul Rosales, who burried an incredible one-touch finish in the back of the net for one of the top goals of the year. With the score knotted at one, the game looked headed to overtime when two Luther defenders arrived late on a ball switched through the midfield. The Wartburg wide player hit an excellent cross and found his man's head on the back post to score what proved to be the game winner. The game finished with Luther on the losing end, 2-1.
Close losses like this have plagued the Luther season, but the team must feel good that they were able to battle back and be competetive in every game this season. Hopefully their competetive nature will carry them to some success in the following games. There is still a little yet to be decided in the conference with a few games to be played on Staurday, but a win against Coe on senior night would guarantee a home game for the opening round of the conference tournament, a treat Luther would definitely like to take part in.

Punching Our Ticket

One sign of a good team is the ability to overcome adversity, while another is the ability to finish a close game on the road. Luther was able to do both of those things on Wednesday afternoon, as well as clinch their spot in the IIAC postseason tournament. Although those on the inside already knew this of Luther, this was a sign to the rest of the conference that Luther is a force with which to be reckoned.
Although they experienced a sluggish start after a four hour bus ride and an eary departure for Pella , Iowa, Luther was bailed out 25 minutes in by an errant pass from a Central defender which Michael Kustra intercepted. His deft touch put Jimmy Laroque in behind their defenders with only the keeper to beat. Only a foul would stop him from scoring after he was in the box, and that was the choice the Central defender made. Michael Olson stepped up and gave Luther what proved to be the game winner when he burried the penalty kick top corner. Against the run of play as it was, Luther needed to pick up their effort and concentration if they wanted to win this game.
Luther began to wake up as the game proceeded and came out in the second half much more focused. Central was still very much in the game and behaved as if it were so as they kept Luther under the gun for several minutes. But after some stout defending and a great effort in midfield from Jimmy Laroque, Luther was able to begin to counter Central's fervor and create chances of their own. Both Kustra and Pyzdrowski thought they had earned penalties as they beat players and were hacked down in the box, only to look up and see the referees melodramatic "play on" hand motions. Luckily for everyone involved, those missed calls did not decide the game and Luther ended up on top after astellar performance from Steve O'Meara and the back four. This puts Luther at 4-2 in conference play, already tallying more conference wins than last year with two important games yet to play. In addition, this win clinches Luther's place somewhere in the conference postseason tournament. If Luther wins out, they have the ability to finish as high as third and would host the first round of the IIAC tournament against the sixth place finisher. An impotant two weeks follow this big victory and Luther looks to continue their run of success.
After the heartbreak of the preceeding weekend, the Luther faithful surely wondered how this young team would respond for this tough road game. The Luther boys were once again asked to proudly lift their heads in the face of adversity and continue to battle, and they met the challenge with an away win against a team that went 7-1 in the conference last year. They fought hard, defended with urgency, created chances, and were able to pull out a huge victory and ensure a postseason life for their team.
Iowa dutch country has been good to the Norse after two trips in five days for its reserve and varisty teams. Two wins against Central on their home turf, as well as a near miss at a championship in the reserve tournament leave Luther looking fondly upon the Dutch windmills, beautiful foliage and near perfect pitch in Pella, Iowa. After a convincing 3-0 women's victory, and a lovely meal hosted by the most gracious Merrick family in Pella, Luther Soccer came home with high spirits, ready to take on whatever lies ahead. The boys travel to Wartburg for a rivalry match for what might prove to be the third place spot in the conference.

A Heartbreaking Weekend

The busy weekend for Luther was complete with every emotion one could fathom a soccer team could have. Surprise, elation, fatigue, anger, and heartbreak were among those that showered down upon the Luther Soccer team this weekend.
In the midst of mid-terms, Luther sent a 12-man roster down to Pella, Iowa for a reserve tournament at Central College. Though they were undermanned and without any field-player substitutes, the reserves fought bravely and worked hard for each other. After a late arrival, they came out strong against Central College in the first of three sixty minute games that day. Luther took it to them on their own field, winning 2-0, with goals from Okete and Hwang. In the second game against Dubuque, their legs looked to fail them as they fell 1-0 to Dubuque in a close battle where it was anyone's game. When Paul Armstrong suffered a concussion against Dubuque, Luther knew they were down to eleven players for the remainder of the afternoon. Luther was suprised and elated to find out it had made it to the finals against a good Loras team on goal differential, and all pain was forgotten and the boys were ready to fight for sixty more minutes.
Though drained after leaving at 7 AM, driving four hours, and playing 120 minutes of soccer in four hours, Luther never gave up and didn't back down. Loras got the first goal towards the end of the first half on a scramble in the box, but Luther countered even later in the half when Tyler Brewer was fouled in the box and Hwang burried the penalty kick. In the second half, Loras was able to score as Dickson was screened to put Loras up 2-1. Once again Luther fought back as Brewer intercepted a pass in the attacking third and combined with Okete to tie the score at 2. The game looked to be headed to penlty kicks when a free-kick put us in trouble. When our defenders called for an off-sides call there was none, and the Loras player was in behind and able to score a minute before. They dug in deep and fought hard for the name on their shirt that day, and the coaching staff could not have been any prouder of them. They overcame obstacles and never gave up, and it was a sign of things to come.
On Saturday, another roller coaster of a game left Luther on the losing end 3-2 against UW-Platteville. The first half saw Luther demolishing Platteville for forty minutes and being up 2-0, with a goal off a corner from Stalberger and a bent shot from wide from Quezada the first of his career. But when Platteville pulled one back right before halftime, momentum changed, and they felt like they were in the game that they should not have been. Just after halftime, Platteville leveled the score and Luther looked to be in trouble. We were unable to hold on and they put another goal in the back of the net on a counter attack with fifteen to go finishing the scoring and putting Luther on the losing end 3-2. The timing of goals can be so important, when you score one going into and coming out of halftime, things don't look good, and it proved correct on this day,
The next day had Luther heading up to St. Peter, Minnesota to take on Gustavus Adolphus College. An organized side and a windy day made it tough for the Norse to score without many great chances on either side. In overtime, Luther was unable to convert their best chance of the game and then gave up a goal on a deflected shot after a Gustavus corner, losing with 2 minutes remaining. Heartbreak again found its way on the faces of the Luther players.
But even after all that, even after dropping two tough non-conference games this weekend, even after having a record go from near .500 to far below it, Luther has everything to play for. They are still fourth in the IIAC, with a win in the next three game securing a spot in the IIAC tournament and three wins allowing them to move as high as third. We can not give up. We can not lose hope. We still control our own destiny, which is a great feeling to have. So we will fight on, work harder, and do our best to become the best we can be.

Opening the Floodgates

Beavers are well known for their ingenuity, hard work, and dam building abilities. But on Wednesday afternoon, the ingenuity was not clever enough, the hard work was not tough enough, and the floodgates were opened on the dam. The torrent that is Luther Soccer was just too much for BV in the end, and the game reflected it.
Jackson Stalbereger opened up the scoring with a pukka (pukka was on Adam Pyzdrowski's word of the day email and means superior or first class) header off a Melchor Quezada corner. He was first to it as he broke to the near post and put it away in the top corner. With blood now in the water, Luther poured it on. Shortly thereafter, Jimmy Laroque found Adam Pyzdrowski in the box as Pyz tallied the second goal on a one touch finish. A few minutes later, Scotsman Michael Kustra got in behind to serve a ball and found Jimmy Laroque in the box who expertly took it down and put it in the back of the net on his second touch. On 23 minutes played, Luther looked up and it was 3-0, which is right where they wanted to be. Saul Rosales would close the scoring for the first half on a well-taken penalty after he was hacked down in the box. At the half it was 4-0 for the guys in blue.
Buena Vista never really threatened to score, and everyone who made the trip to Storm lake saw minutes in the second half. Luther appeared to be an uninspired side in the second half as the bitter cold and large lead looked to take their toll on the team. Tyler Brewer was able to score his first collegiate goal after a great combination from Sam Hwang, Saul Rosales, and Jake Kessler to make the count 5-0. All in all it was a good performance for the Norse. They have now won three out of four games and sit at 3-2 in IIAC play. They look to continue to their winning ways this weekend against tough non-conference opponents UW-Platteville and Gustavus Adolphus.

Alumni Fiesta

The victory for the Norse was not the only soccer match that took place this weekend. The annual Luther Soccer Alumni Weekend brought soccer alums both young and old back to Decorah for a weekend of fellowship, fun, and general revelry. The returning classes ranged from 1983, when Luthe had only a club team, the record setting 1990s teams, through the most recent graduating class. Luther was inundated with guys like Luther's own Greg Vanney (no not that Greg Vanney), Luther Hall of Famer and all time leading scorer Marty Myers, and more recent captains Mike Eckberg, John Schroeher and David Keller.
The day began as the guys dusted off the boots and strapped them on for an alumni game. It was an even match without much defending, and the game ended in a 5-5 tie. The most important thing is that there were no serious injuries, though there was some heavy breathing and some less-than-mild complaining. Thanks to excellent photography by the Dutchess of Alumni Weekend, Julie Shockey, the guys actually appear as if they once had great athletic ability. I am sure everyone was pretty sore the next day, but it was a great time, a gorgeous afternoon, and a chance for friends new and old to reunite and catch up.
Any nagging soreness was soon forgotten as the alumni group assembled under the alumni tent and began to grill right alongside the game field during the game. They were helpfully boisterous, as is usually the case, and helped cheer their alma mater on to victory over Simpson. The night concluded as the men and women alumni joined together at their old stomping ground, T-Bocks, as the alumni watched Iowa put away Michigan on the football field and watched the USA qualify for the World Cup. It seemed as if everything went our way alumni weekend, and we appreciate all of the support, good times, and great friendships provided by our wonderful alumni. We look forward to seeing everyone again next year if not sooner, and hopefully the Luther Soccer family can continue to grow. We would like to thank the alumni for their continued support of the Mello Endowment, which will enhance the Luther Soccer experience and is named for the man that started the Luther program and gave so much to it. We look forward to seeing everyone again next year if not sooner, and hopefully the Luther Soccer family can continue to grow and prosper. Thanks again for a great weekend!

Calming the Storm

Even though there was snow on the forecast, the Simpson Storm were only sever weather to blow through Decorah on Saturday night. Simpson came in riding a three-game winning streak, and it looked to be another tough battle for Luther on Saturday Night. With the alumni in town to cheer them on (alumni post to follow), Luther looked to come up with a much needed win and level their conference record at 2-2. After a great performance and a tough loss against Loras, Luther hoped to continue their upward trend.
Thankfully (for us thin-blooded Texas coaches, at least) the snow missed Decorah and it was a cold, lovely, evening for soccer. As the sun set over the Oneota Valley, shadows grew long and Luther bundled up to take the field against Simpson. Guilherme Castro made the most of his first start for Luther when he played a deft touch in the box to Adam Pyzdrowski. As he pushed it past a defender he was chopped him down in the penalty box. The referee made an easy call for the penalty, and Mike Olson recorded his first goal of the year as he put the ball in the upper V for the goal on six minutes played. Simpson did not slither away to die and when Luther could not get a second goal quickly the Storm looked like they would fight to the end.
The field was still an issue after a few weeks of brutal weather and too much wear, but Luther continued to fight and battle and were the better side on this day. Luther lost defensive standout Eric Johnson after he took a knock in the first half, but first-year Jackson Stalberger stepped in to play a great second half for Luther. Andy Eisenberg gave a much needed lift when he came off the bench after Castro went down with an ankle injury. Steve O'Meara recorded another shutout making the saves he needed to and leading our back line. After out shooting Simpson 10-6, the game ended 1-0 in favor of our Luther Norse. It was another tremendous effort where the boys fought hard for ninety minutes. They did what was asked of them and leveled Luther's conference record. The boys now look ahead to the long road trip to Buena Vista on Wednesday where they expect to continue their winning ways.

A Mighty Effort

Leading up to last night's game, a casual fan checking the statistics would think that Luther would have no chance in their match against Loras College. Loras has been to two consecutive Final Four's, has been nationally ranked for several years, and currently sits at #5 in the country. At 3-5-1, Luther's record suggests a team that is struggling mightily. But last night, under the lights in a sloppy game that further destroyed the fledgling Luther pitch, the records, the statistics, and the history were thrown out the window.
In a game where an outmatched team might have laid down and held on for a tie, Luther came out swinging. Luther had Loras under the gun for the first 20 minutes whithout really being threatened. They pressured with gusto, defended well, and were able to keep the ball and penetrate in the attack. Loras' back to back Final Four run was not a flute, as they have several very talented players that are tough to defend, but the first half ended nil-nil, with each team having their fair share of chances. Alan Bedell looked to be in when he appeared to have been tripped just outside the box. No foul was called. Luther needed another big game from Steve O'Meara and got one as he came up with a couple big saves that helped keep Luther in the box.
The second half was more of the same, with a few more chances for each team, but neither team being able to find the back of the net. Luther looked to have dealt well with another cross from Loras as they cleared the ball when a Loras player found himself on the ground and was awarded a penalty kick. The staff did not see a foul on the play, but the Loras #10 burried the penalty and Luther was down one-nil. The second half continued with Luther fighting hard to get the goal back and Loras doing well to kill the game. Luther chased the game and threw players forward but was unable to create the chances that they needed, and the final whistle blew with Luther on the short end of the stick. The game ended with Loras up 1-0, shots on goal were 2-2, and shots were 8-7 in favor of Luther.
Needless to say, the game could not have been closer and the staff could not have been happier with the team for the commitment, hard work, and perseverence they showed last night. Before the game, the boys were told they needed to attack with all their might and defend with all their might, and that is exactly what they did. This was easily the best all-around effort of the season, and it was unfortunate that a judgment call had to be the decider. But as Coach Garcia-Prats said after the game, "If you play like this the rest of the season, you will win every game we have left." Luther looks to take the game out of the referees hands and continue their great effort as conference play continues. We look forward to seeing all out alumni out for alumni weekend this Saturday as Luther Soccer takes on Simpson.

Creamed Cornell

Mt. Vernon was once the homestead of one of America's Founding Fathers and First President, George Washington. It was a place in which he sought refuge between the grueling tasks of starting this great nation and fighting the Revolutionary war. After Saturday, Luther Soccer will look kindly upon Mt Vernon as well. No, not that Mount Vernon. Luther Soccer found a refuge from the inconsistency that had plagued them so in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, home of Cornell College.
They started strong, they ended strong, and they played well in between. After slogging through a tough, wet, week of training, the boys loaded up and headed for Mount Vernon Saturday morning desperate for a win. They found one in a big way. Cornell College was outmatched from the start, and when Pyzdrowski found Case inside the six-yard box in the fifth minute for a goal that looked to careen off of Case's face/neck region and in, Luther never looked back. The first half ended with Luther on top 6-0 as two goals were tacked on from and Pyzdrowski and Castro as well as a one touch screamer from Jason Block. These were Castro and Block's first goals for Luther, a cause for celebration.
The second half began with most of the starters out for Luther, but the younger players were just as hungry and were not about to let up. First-Year players Fernandes and Rosales wach tallied the first goals of their college careers while Kessler and Esienberg had their first goals of the season. Luther's improved depth was revealed in Saturday's match, and it was a great sign of things to come as 8 different players found their name on the scoring sheet.
Steve O'Meara and the Luther defenders did what they had to do though they were unchallenged for most of the game. After only giving up two shots, neither of which was on goal, the Luther defenders probably still had fresh legs for the bus ride home. It was a great to see Luther put together a full game of soccer, connect passes, finish chances, and work hard for each other. Hopefully they can continue to rpoduce these kinds of efforts as they move forward with conference play.They will need every ounce of confidence, effort, and skill this week as they find themselves hosting 5th ranked Loras on Wednesday.