WAVERLY, Iowa – Men's soccer opened American Rivers Conference play at home on Saturday, Sept. 23 with a 3-0 win against the University of Dubuque after outlasting a second half weather delay.
Match Summary
- First Half
- The Spartans got the match underway with two shots on goal in the first five minutes
- Wartburg got its first opportunity in the 16th minute when both Curtis Ratzer and Andrew Valenzuela had shots blocked after a corner kick
- Alima Mmunga got behind the Spartan defense in the 24th minute, but his shot missed just left of the post
- Edvin Rizvic came close to an unassisted goal after his shot just curved and missed the target in the 32nd minute
- Woody made two more saves before half to keep the match at 0-0
- Second Half
- Rizvic got two shots on goal that were both saved in the opening minutes of the second half
- Minutes later Landon Hartsell drew a foul that led to a Wartburg penalty kick
- Ratzer netted the attempt to give Wartburg a 1-0 advantage in the 54th minute
- Just one minute later, Aidan Mott got behind the UD defense on a break and Paul Devine found him for the score
- Wartburg led 2-0 in the 55th minute
- The match was stopped due to a weather delay in the 61st minute of play
- Devine drew a foul in the 72nd minute that led to a free kick goal from Rizvic to put the Knights up 3-0
- Michael Dunn and Tyler Howe both recorded shots on goal in the final minutes, but neither found the net
- Wartburg defeated UD 3-0
Top Performers
- Ratzer
- Goal
- Helped lead Wartburg defense to shutout
- Three total shots
- All 90 minutes played
- Mott
- Goal
- Two shots on goal
- 60 minutes played
- Rizvic
- Goal
- Three shots on goal
- 59 minutes played
Notes/Streaks
- Wartburg leads the all-time series 12-9-4
- 5-0-3 is the longest unbeaten streak to start a season in program history
- Fourth-straight shutout for Wartburg's defense
- First penalty kick of the season for Wartburg
- Ratzer:
- Second goal this season
- Fifth career goal
- First career penalty kick made
- Mott:
- First career goal
- Third point this season
- First assist of the season for Devine
- 10th point for Rizvic this season
- 17th career goal for number 17
- 40 career points
- Woody
- Shutout
- Six saves
- All 90 minutes played
Next Time Out
The Knights are back in action on Monday, Sept. 25 on the road against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the second annual Battle of the Warhawk Knight Cup.