Storm battle to 1-1 draw with Wartburg
| Final | 1 | 2 | OT | OT2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Wartburg (8-4-4, 3-3-2 IIAC) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
Simpson (13-2-2, 4-2-1 IIAC) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
INDIANOLA, Iowa — Mason Madren scored the equalizer in the second half and the Simpson men's soccer team snapped a two-game losing streak with a 1-1 draw against Wartburg on Sunday afternoon.
Originally scheduled to be played Saturday, the game was moved to the threat of inclement weather.
Ben Johnson gave the Knights (8-4-4, 3-3-2 Iowa Conference) a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute when he dribbled through the Simpson defense and went far post from five yards out. The score stayed that way until the 58th minute when Jack Arndt hit a well-placed free kick from 40 yards out to Madren, who headed in the first goal of his career.
Jake Potratz made two saves in goal and the Storm (13-2-2, 4-2-1) secured a spot in the upcoming Iowa Conference tournament. Simpson outshot Wartburg 21-16 and put nine shots on goal.
Coach Speak
"Today you saw two teams that really went to battle, created a handful of opportunities each, and in the end, a draw was probably fair." — head coach Rick Isaacson
Tournament Talk
• Simpson's 13 points in the league standings are currently tied for third with Dubuque, over whom Simpson holds the tiebreaker with a 2-1 win on Sept. 30.
• A win over Coe (0-7) on Tuesday would allow Simpson to finish second if Central can knock off Loras. If Simpson wins and Loras wins, the Storm would secure the three-seed and host sixth-seeded Wartburg on Saturday.
• If Simpson draws or loses to Coe, the Storm can finish no higher than third. A tie and wins by both Dubuque (vs. Luther) and Nebraska Wesleyan (vs. Buena Vista) would drop Simpson to fifth.
Tuesday's IIAC Games
Loras at Central
Buena Vista at Nebraska Wesleyan
Simpson at Coe
Luther at Dubuque
| IIAC Standings (through Sunday) | ||
| Luther | 18 | 6-1-0 |
| Loras | 15 | 5-2-0 |
| Simpson | 13 | 4-2-1 |
| Dubuque | 13 | 4-2-1 |
| Neb. Wesleyan | 12 | 4-3-0 |
| Wartburg | 11 | 3-3-2 |
| Central | 9 | 3-4-0 |
| Buena Vista | 3 | 1-6-0 |
| Coe | 0 | 0-7-0 |
Notes & Numbers
• Simpson remained undefeated against Wartburg since 2015, going 2-0-2 during the stretch.
• Simpson is now 11-1-1 when holding opponents to one goal or less.
• Madren's first career goal makes him the ninth different Simpson player to find the back of the net in 2017.
• Potratz now owns a 0.81 goals against average on the season, the second-best mark in school history behind Rob Swanson (0.63 in 1997).
• The Storm are now 1-1-1 in overtime games in 2017.
Up Next
Simpson goes to Coe to close the regular season on Tuesday, Oct. 24. The Kohawks (3-12, 0-7) lost to Loras 2-0 on Saturday. Start time is set for 7:30 p.m.