WAVERLY, Iowa — The Knights (8-3-3, 4-1-0) suffered their first American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) loss of the season to the University of Dubuque (9-4-2, 5-0-0) 3-0 at Salzwedel Field on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
Despite a 25-21 edge in total shots, Wartburg was only able to put five attempts on goal and was shutout for just the second time in 2026.
How It Happened
First Half
- The Knights had an early look from
Jacob Chickering in the seventh minute, while
Caleb Cross made his first save on Jake Polacek at 7:43.
- Dubuque went ahead 1-0 at 19:43 when Luka Tomic scored off an assist from Ryder Syverson.
- The Orange and Black kept pushing after the goal, with
Lwings Kabula putting a shot on target at 23:53 and the Knights adding corner kicks at 24:21 and 31:59.
- Cross made three more saves between 33:39 and 39:06, and the Knights had late shots from
Simen Kvalheim and Chickering before Dubuque took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
Second Half
- The Knights generated sustained pressure after the break, taking six shots and two corner kicks from 54:13 to 63:16 while the score remained 0-1.
- Dubuque created a response midway through the half, with Cross saving Jameson Carl at 70:22 before Carl converted a penalty kick at 71:15.
- Andre Elinoff scored for Dubuque at 79:18 to make it 3-0.
- The Knights pushed late with three corner kicks from 81:16 to 86:57, including a
Flori Gembo shot saved by Riley Johnson at 85:30, but the match finished 3-0.
Top Performers
Flori Gembo
- six shots
- one shot on goal
Simen Kvalheim
- four shots
- one shot on goal
Jacob Chickering
- four shots
- one shot on goal
Lwings Kabula
- four shots
- one shot on goal
Notes
- First loss since Sept. 16 (seven-match winning streak snapped)
- The Knights still hold the series lead 14-11-4
- 25-21 advantage for the Knights in total shots (UD led shots on goal 12-5)
Up Next
Up next, the Knights travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, to face Nebraska Wesleyan University on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 7:30 p.m.
