DECORAH, Iowa – The No. 3 seeded Wartburg College Knights (9-6-3 overall; 5-2-1 A-R-C) will travel to Decorah to take on the No. 2 seed Luther College Norse (14-3-1; 6-1-1) for the semifinal match of the American Rivers Conference Tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m.
 
Follow the Knights
For a live stream, audio and stats of the Knights' match vs. Luther, click here.
 
The Series
The Knights and Norse have meet a total of 42 times throughout their individual histories, with the Norse owning the series record at 23-17-2. The Knights most successful stretch over Luther came on Oct. 15, 2003, through Oct. 2, 2010, where the Knights won 11 consecutive matches versus Luther. The last time these two programs met was on Oct. 13 of this year, where the two teams tied 2-2 in double overtime. The last Knight win over Luther came on Oct. 5^, 2016, when Wartburg took down then-ranked No. 9 Luther 1-0 in overtime.
 
Wartburg
Wartburg enters the semifinals match coming off of a 0-0 draw with Nebraska Wesleyan University on Saturday, which saw the Knights advance 4-2 on PKs. The Knights own the conference's third-best offense at 32 goals in 18 contests, good for an average of 1.78 goals per game. Leading the way for the Knights' offense is senior forward Ben Johnson (Marion) who leads the Knights in goals with eight and is tied for the conference lead in goals scored. Trailing Johnson in goals scored is fellow senior forward Ayo Adebayo (Rochester, Minn.) who's scored seven of his own, followed by senior midfielder Daniel Luzindya (Cedar Rapids) and sophomore forward Jack Palen (Norwalk) with six each.
 
Luzindya has created opportunities all season for his teammates to score, as evident by his team-leading six assists, which also stands at second-overall in the conference. Senior goalkeeper Paul Koebke Barsic (Madison, Wis.) leads the Knights under the net and has compiled a record of 9-2-2 with 67 saves in 1,119 minutes of play. Koebke Barsic has been stout defensively, as he owns the conference's lowest goals against average (.755).
 
Luther
The Norse are coming into the matchup off of a first-round bye after earning the conference's second seed. On the season, the Norse have recorded an impressive eight wins in nine matches at home. To date, the Norse hold the league's second-best offense, scoring 43 goals in their 18 contests. Leading the Norse in scoring is Ben Keller with eight goals, in addition to four assists for 20 points total. Trailing Keller in goals are a quartet of players with five goals each. The strong offense has been coupled with an even stronger defense as the Norse have allowed only 14 goals to their opponents, ranking first overall in the conference.
 
Luther's goalkeeper Carson Davenport has allowed only 13 goals in his 1,600-plus minutes of action this season. His goals against average (.818) ranks second overall in the conference, trailing Wartburg's Paul Koebke Barsic. Davenport has earned a 10-3-1 record with five shutouts and has complied 38 saves.
 
Luther is coached by Chris Garcia-Prats, who is coaching his 11^th year at Luther and is seeking his fourth conference title in his tenure. The Norse have previously won conference titles in 2011, 2013 and 2017 under Garcia-Prats.  
 
Playoff Implications
No. 1 seed Loras College will host No. 5 Central College in the other A-R-C semifinals match. The winner of the semifinals will go on to face one another in the Conference Championship match at the higher seeded school's home venue on Saturday, Nov. 3. The winner of the American Rivers Conference Tournament will earn the league's automatic bid into the NCAA DIII National Tournament.
 
A-R-C Tournament Website

National Stat Rankings
Wartburg ranks in the top 100 of seven statistical categories, which the NCAA released Monday.
 
The Knights ranks 29^th in save percentage (.84), 38^th in shots on goal per game (8.78), 54^th in shutout percentage (.5), 55^th in corner kicks per game (6.11), 56^th in shots per game (17.22), 70^th in shot accuracy (.51), and 86^th in team goals against average (.896).
 
Individually, one Knight ranks in the top 100 of four statistical categories: Koebke Barsic ranks 18^th in save percentage (.87), 30^th in shutouts (7), 57^th in goals against average (.755), and 97^th in saves per game (5.15).