WAVERLY, Iowa – Wartburg men's soccer is set to begin postseason play as the No. 5 seed in the American Rivers Conference tournament Saturday, Oct. 30. against No. 4 seeded Luther College at 7 p.m. in Decorah, Iowa.
Saturday, Oct. 30 – 7:00 p.m. – Decorah, Iowa – Luther Soccer Field
Wartburg Knights (7-6-3, 4-3-1 A-R-C) vs Luther Norse (9-6-3, 4-1-3 A-R-C)
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Last Time Out
The Knights last competition was a double overtime draw against Luther on Tuesday, Oct. 26. The match was a defensive showing in the first half with only one shot on goal each. It was 0-0 heading into the second half.
The Orange & Black came out aggressive offensively in the second half and outshot the Norse early.
Jack Palen got the Knights on the board in when he fired a goal past the keeper coming off a
Payton Chapman assist. The goal was Palen's conference leading 15
th of the season.
The Norse would answer with a goal to tie it at one and neither team was able to find the net the rest of the match thanks to good defense and goalkeeping. Palen paced the Knights offensively with the goal and three of the team's six shots on goal. In goal for the Knights
Patrick McMahon played all 110 minutes and recorded four saves.
Wartburg
The Knights closed the regular season averaging 2.19 goals per game on 14 shots per game with a shot on goal percentage of 49.4%. The Orange & Black outscored opponents 35-21 during the regular season and added a total of 22 assists on those goals. Palen leads the team in goals and with 15 and
Caleb Halleran leads in assists with four.
Defensively, Wartburg has held opponents to 1.31 goals per game on 11 shots per game throughout the regular season. The Knights have shutout six opponents this season. McMahon has logged 966:06 minutes in goal throughout the regular season and recorded 34 saves with a save percentage of 77.3%.
Wartburg's last tournament championship came in 2014.
Luther
The Norse finished the regular season with a record of 9-6-3 overall and 4-1-3 in A-R-C play and enter the tournament as the No. 4 seed. Luther's last A-R-C Tournament win came in 2019, which is the most recent due to the 2020 tournament being canceled.
Luther's offense is led by Will Overberg and Marcos Vila, who both have totaled 30 or more points this season. Overberg has recorded 13 goals and seven assists for a total of 33 points, and Vila has 12 goals with six assists through 18 games played. In the last matchup with the Knights, Ben Bolte scored the Norse's only goal.
The Norse defense is led by goalkeeper Carson Davenport, who has started all 18 games and recorded 1664:29 minutes in goal. Davenport has a save percentage of 75.3% and recorded 67 saves throughout regular season play.
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