Ten men Storm force draw against rival Knights

WAVERLY, Iowa - Despite playing down a man for almost 70 minutes, Simpson men's soccer team battled to a deserved 1-1 draw against Wartburg at Salzwedel Field, Saturday.

With the draw, the Storm (8-2-1, 1-0-1 A-R-C) earned their first point at Wartburg since 2016 in a 3-2 overtime win and also remained unbeaten in the early stages of American Rivers Conference play.

As one would expect, the game was lively from the first whistle, with both teams firing shots in at goal. Storm goalkeeper Nate Hersom played the full 90 minutes and made key saves throughout the match especially in the second half.

The Knights (5-1-4, 1-0-1 A-R-C) struck first though. After a foul right on the edge of the box by the Storm, Peyton Chapman's free kick found an unmarked Micheal Dunn, who powerfully headed in from close range to put Wartburg up 1-0 in the 18th minute.

The following five minutes saw renewed Simpson delight turn into confusion and disbelief. As for the delight, reigning A-R-C Offensive Player of the Week Mateaus Lewis scored an absolute wondergoal. Lewis received a ball around 30 yards from goal and with the Knight defenders dropping off him and having not much support, unleashed a rocket into the top-right corner.

The goal knotted the scores up at 1-1, but what followed was the main talking point. With all 22 players lined up ready to resume, one of the assistant referees called over the center referee. After consultation between the two and Storm head coach Rick Isaacson, Lewis was red-carded for celebration. The decision led the Storm sideline into disbelief, but meant the Storm were down a man for almost 70 minutes.

Despite the hardship, Simpson did not back down, carving out their own share of opportunities and matching the Knights over the remaining game time. Hersom's six saves kept the Knights off the scoreboard, with the Storm picking and choosing tactical points to counter-attack.

Wartburg became frustrated as a clearly motivated Simpson squad nearly ended up stealing the three points at the death. After a counter-attack kept the ball in the attacking third for the Storm, Baraka Ellie's pass looped over the head of a Wartburg defender and fell kindly for Ronaldo Ordaz. Ordaz's half-volley from close range took a weird bounce right as he struck it though, as the ball hit the side netting at the far post.

"The match certainly did not unfold as we anticipated," said Isaacson. "We were forced to play a man down for nearly 70 minutes and that obviously changed our approach. Despite it, our guys played hard today, overcame some adversity, and escaped with a huge point in the league standings," continued Isaacson. "There was plenty to learn from today and we will shift our focus to our midweek match against Buena Vista."

Up Next
The Storm host two home matches next week in conference play, beginning Wednesday at 5 p.m. against Buena Vista, before playing host to Loras on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.