WAVERLY, Iowa – The No. 2 seeded Wartburg women's soccer team (13-4-1 overall, 6-1-1 A-R-C) took on No. 3 seeded Luther C (7-8-3, 6-2) in the American Rivers Conference semifinals and came away with a 2-0 victory to advance to the A-R-C Championship game for the first time since 2016.


 
The Knights and Norse were both fairly quiet offensively through the matches' first 20 minutes until a pass from sophomore midfielder Molly Close (Polk City) landed right in the perfect spot for senior forward Nicole Adair (Reinbeck) to attempt a 25-yard shot, which sailed over the goalie's head and into the bottom right corner of the net to give the Knights the 1-0 lead going into the 21^st minute. The assist marks the first of the season for Close, while the goal gives Adair her first 10 goal season as a Knight.  
 
The Orange and Black maintained their 1-0 lead throughout the first half and brought their lead into the break. At the half, the Knights had attempted seven shots compared to the Norse's three. Wartburg also held the advantage in corner kicks (1-0) and were on the right side of fouls (4-1).
 
The second half would get underway with a bang, as senior forward Alyssa Drewelow (Cedar Rapids) received a pass from Adair in stride down the left sideline and was able to beat a defender to attempt a clear shot at the goal, which sailed behind the goalie and across the net for the score. The score marks Drewelow's seventh goal of the season and gave the Knights the 2-0 lead.
 
The Knights would fend off a few attempts to score from the Norse as they held on to their 2-0 lead throughout the second half and to the end of the match to advance the Knights to the American Rivers Conference Championship for the first time since 2016. The Knights will travel to face No. 1 seeded Loras College on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 5 p.m.