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.