WAVERLY, Iowa – The Wartburg College men's soccer team and the Loras College Duhawks will face off this Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 5 p.m. in a match that will hold implications on the upcoming American Rivers Conference tournament.
 
Follow the Knights
Click here to watch a live stream of the Knights in action, provided by Loras College.
Click here to follow live stats of the Knights' match, provided by Loras College Athletics.
 
The Series
The upcoming matchup will the 47^th meeting between the two programs, with the last one occurring on Oct. 17, 2017, in a 3-2 overtime Duhawks win. The Knights trail in the series with an overall record of 13-31-2. The last Knights' win over Loras came on Oct. 5, 2013, when then-ranked No. 4 Loras fell to the Knights 2-1.
 
Wartburg
The Knights (8-5-1 overall, 4-1-1 A-R-C) are currently tied for first overall in the American Rivers Conference standings with Simpson College and are coming off of a 2-2 double overtime tie to Luther College over the weekend. Leading the way for the Orange and Black this year in goals scored is senior forward Ben Johnson (Marion), who leads the Knights and the A-R-C with eight overall. Following not far behind are fellow seniors Ayo Adebayo (Rochester, Minn.) and Daniel Luzindya (Cedar Rapids) with six scored goals each, which ranks sixth and seventh in the A-R-C, respectively. As a team, the Knights are outscoring their opponents 30-15, including 11-6 in road contests. The Knights 30 goals scored stand at third overall in the A-R-C. Luzindya leads the team and is tied for the lead in the conference with six assists through 14 games.
 
Senior goalkeeper Paul Koebke Barsic (Madison, Wis.) leads the Knights goalies in minutes (890:43), saves (51), save percentage (.864) and boasts a record of 8-1-1. Koebke Barsic has provided a strong defensive presence for the Knights, evident by his league-low goals against average (.808) and save percentage (.864). The Knights' 15 goal allowed is the third-lowest rank in the A-R-C.
 
Career Record Watch
Koebke Barsic's five season shutouts are tied for eighth overall in a single season, needing three more shutouts this season to tie the record for most in a single season (8). In addition to his single season progress, his nine career shutouts are tied for fifth all-time, trailing fourth place by one.
 
Loras
The Duhawks (9-2, 4-1) currently stand one spot behind the Knights in the A-R-C standings and are coming off of a 5-2 defeat to Simpson College on Saturday, which snapped the program's six game win streak. Loras is led in scoring by sophomore midfielder Manny Lopez with four goals. Trailing Lopez is junior forward Ezekiel Kyoore at three scored goals and five players at two. As a team, the Duhawks are outscoring their opponents 25-11 on the season. Junior goalkeeper Jesse Buffington, who owns an 8-2 record, leads the Duhawk goalies in minutes (831:43) and saves (31). Buffington's save percentage (.738) is ranked fifth overall in the conference.
 
Loras is coached by Dan Rothert, who has held the title at Loras since 1998. Over his twenty years at the helm, the Duhawks have an overall record of 326-107-26 and has been named the Conference Coach of the Year 14 times.

National Stat Rankings
Wartburg ranks in the top 100 of nine statistical categories, which the NCAA released Monday.
 
The Knights rank 34^th in shots on goal per game (8.86), 38^th in shot accuracy (.528), 41^st in corner kicks per game (6.36), 68^th in save percentage (.817), 77^th in shots per game (16.79), 79^th in total goals (30), 91^st in total points (80), 93^rd in shutout percentage (.429), and 96^th in scoring offense (2.14).
 
Individually, three Knights rank in the top 100 of eight statistical categories: Luzindya  ranks 36^th in shot accuracy (.636), 53^rd in total assists (6), 53^rd in game-winning goals (3), and 95^th in assists per game (.43); Koebke Barsic ranks 27^th in save percentage (.864), 44^th in shutouts (5), and 76^th in goals against average (.808); and Johnson ranks 92^nd in total goals (8).