Late rally allows Luther to edge Storm

DECORAH, Iowa -- The Simpson men's soccer team led the No. 5 team in the North Region for nearly 57 minutes, but a pair of goals in a 4 minute span proved to be the difference as Luther escaped with a 2-1 win Wednesday.

The Storm are now 8-4-2 overall and 3-1-1 in the American Rivers Conference. The Norse -- who have been ranked as high as No. 9 in the national polls this season -- are now 10-3 and 3-1 in the league.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Simpson got on the board in the 24th minute when Baraka Ellie beat Luther goalkeeper Carson Davenport to the far post off a helper from Darius Doswell. It was Simpson's lone shot of the first half, but the Storm made it count.

Luther picked up the offensive pressure in the second half, but the Storm back line and goalkeeper Jake Potratz withstood the challenge for the better part of 35 minutes. Potratz saved shots by Rafael Broseghini and Aidan O'Driscoll in the first 7 minutes of the half.

Harry Merz received a red card in the 68th minute when he tackled Tanner Alderson on a breakaway, preventing a one-on-one situation with the keeper. The card forced the Norse to play a man down for the final 22 minutes.

Ben Keller scored the equalizer in the 81st minute, then scored the game-winner in the 85th. He took an assist from Aidan O'Driscoll on the first goal and got help from Andrew Avram on the winner.

NOTES

• The Storm were held without a corner kick for the first time since facing Luther on Oct. 1, 2016 a stretch of 45 games.
• The Storm lost a heartbreaker to the Norse for the second year in a row. Simpson led 1-0 until the 86th minute in last year's 2-1 loss.

UP NEXT

Simpson hosts Loras on Saturday, Oct. 13. Start time is set for 3:30 p.m. at Buxton Stadium.