Brilliant second half vaults Storm into semifinals

INDIANOLA, Iowa - Simpson men's soccer team used a dominant second half to advance to the semifinals of the American Rivers Conference Tournament after beating Dubuque, 4-1, Saturday.

The game was intense from the first whistle, featuring a Dubuque side with a changed lineup that seemingly led to more energy and motivation. The Storm (12-3-3, 4-1-3 A-R-C) nearly got on the board early like they did in the meeting last weekend, with Matt Hasken seeing his shot blocked inside the box.

Around half way through the first half, a Storm counter led to Hasken finding Alan Imamovic at the top of the box, but his shot went wide right. The first chance of the Spartans (8-6-4, 3-2-3 A-R-C) came off a corner kick, but the ensuing header was cleared off the line by the Storm defense. The game was more even than the previous meeting, but Simpson gradually gained more control and possession as the half went on, but it went into the break 0-0.

Simpson found the breakthrough 10 minutes into the second half. Ronaldo Ordaz was able to drift in some space and send in a cross that the Dubuque goalkeeper could not field cleanly. Hasken got the slightest of touches that allowed Mateaus Lewis to bang in his sixth goal of the season from close range.

The Storm were in dreamland just moments later. After the Spartans scrambled to clear an initial big chance, defender Andrew Russell picked up the ball and showed good composure inside the box, getting to the endline and cutting the ball back to Baraka Ellie, whose sliding finish doubled the Storm lead.

To the credit of the Spartans, they kept pushing, with striker Gavin Wooldridge forcing a full-stretch diving save from Storm goalkeeper Nate Hersom. The Spartans cut the lead in half shortly after, as a beautiful cross from Wooldridge found Drew Wisdom at the back post, who controlled and finished past Hersom.

The Storm nearly regained their two goal advantage with 18 minutes to go, as Ellie released Jack Lammers with an inch-perfect pass. Lammers squared the ball to Imamovic, but the Spartans goalkeeper Matt Marchiori made a brilliant save to deny him, with Spencer Young's goal bound follow-up blocked.

With Dubuque sending more men forward, the Storm finished them off ruthlessly. A driving run by Imamovic forced the Spartan defense to step to him and he played a reverse pass to Roderick Orellana-Lemus, who teased his defender before placing a curled finish beyond Marchiori. The Storm sealed the contest in spectacular fashion with 10 minutes to go. After a turnover at midfield, Russell picked up the ball, before driving at the defense, skinning his man, and firing the ball into the roof of the net for his first goal of the year that ended the game as a contest.

"Anytime you can win in the playoffs is a big deal, first and foremost," said head coach Rick Isaacson. "We were pleased to advance and we have talked about how this is a three-phase postseason for us, with us winning here being the first phase and getting to the semifinal."

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The Storm advance to the semifinals where they will go on the road to face the second seed Luther, with whom they drew with 2-2 earlier in the year.

"I thought our guys executed the game plan really well," continued Isaacson. "We were kind of low energy in the first half, but then came out with more energy in the second half. We are looking forward to our trip to Decorah, where we will put our best foot forward and see what happens."