Conference tournament and game update

Greetings Norse fans!

The IIAC tournament kicks off in just over 24 hours. The #5 Luther men will travel to Central to take on the #4 Dutch Tuesday, Nov. 2 (game time TBA). The #4 Luther women will HOST #5 Coe on WEDNESDAY, NOV. 3 at 7 p.m.

Winners move on to the semi-finals this weekend at Loras College in Dubuque on Friday, Nov. 5. Semi-final winners move on to the finals (yup still at Loras) on Saturday, Nov. 6. (See below)

Semi-final matches • Friday, Nov. 5 at Rock Bowl Loras College, Dubuque
Men
#1 Wartburg vs. Central/Luther winner, TBA
#2 Loras vs. Dubuque/Coe winner, TBA
Women
#1 Loras vs. Luther/Coe winner, TBA
#2 Wartburg vs. Dubuque/Simpson winner, TBA

Championship matches • Saturday, Nov. 6 at Rock Bowl Loras College, Dubuque
Men's final, 4:30 p.m.
Women's final, 7 p.m.

GAME UPDATE BELOW

Since our last post, we have gone 1-1. We defeated Cornell, 7-1, and lost to UW-Platteville, 0-2.

Scoring in the Coe match was Renee (an update from the last post) assisted by Kelsey B. Haager stopped two shots for her first shutout of the year.

In the Cornell game-there was a plethora of scoring:

Goal 1: Dani (UNA)
Goal 2: Paige (Kelsey B.)
Goal 3: Anna (Kelsey B. and Dani)
Goal 4: Anna (Kelsey B.)
Goal 5: Renee (Sami)
Goal 6: Kirsten (UNA)
Goal 7: Maggie H. (Kendra)

And a plethora of drama... two-near fights broke out, and were handled by the referees.

In the Platteville game, we just didn't come with our A+ game. We played well, but couldn't stop the Platteville shot, and couldn't find the back of the net. We're sitting at 9-7-1 overall, 5-3 in conference play headed into the conference tournament.

Come cheer the Luther Women on WEDNESDAY, NOV. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Luther pitch. Go NORSE!

WIN!

Another win for the Norse-we beat Coe 1-0 today! More info to come!

Rollercoaster ride

Well the last week has been a roller coaster ride of sorts, playing some great soccer and playing a little too "inside the box." (And I don't mean the 18.)

We beat the Buena Vista Beavers Oct. 13, 3-0. Considering we shot 29 times, it could have been a whole lot worse (for the Beavers). Dani had her fourth goal of the season, and was credited with an assist on each of the other two goals. Kels scored her fifth of the year and Kat had our final goal, on a beautiful corner kick by Renee.

We also took it to Simpson and silenced the Storm Oct. 16, 3-1. Simpson was first on the board, but didn't find the net again after Luther put in the equalizer via Paige, assisted by Kendra. Kat scored her second goal of the week, assisted by Paige, and Kirsten knocked home some insurance with an unassisted goal. Elisabeth made six saves in her first collegiate start.

Sunday was not our finest day (Oct. 17). St. Ambrose came knocking, and we let them in. The Fighting Bees put two in in the first half, and one in the second to slam the door shut for the Norse.

If you can, watch the Norse take on Coe today at 1 p.m. Available via webcast at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/coe.portal#

Update!

AACK! My posts haven't been posting! I'm not sure where they went-so I'll do my best to give you a mega-but-quick-and-easy-to read-update now.

Ok, so it's been a bit of a rough patch for us since our last post. On Sept. 25 we took on the DuHawks at Loras. They're a good team, and when you have to play them on their turf (literally, turf I mean) they're even better. We came out and played ok soccer, not our best... and it felt like we were playing "catch-up" the majority of the game. We had game-ending injuries-Dani had a knock to the noggin that left her loopy, and Katie thought she might have broken her toe (luckily she didn't... was a sprain).

We had a good game against Viterbo, defeating them 4-1 without two of our regular starters. Kels and Kendra each had two goals against the V-Hawks. (Another hawk that doesn't actually exist.) Maggie J. and Kels each had an assist.

Then came the weekend from hell, two one-goal losses. Ugh. We played Wartburg at home, and lost 1-2. Wartburg scored in the 41st and 54th minutes, then Maggie H. (assisted by Ken) flung a bomb at the Knights goalkeeper in the 72nd minute to bring us within one. We really fired up and crushed Wartburg those last 20 minutes, but couldn't equalize the game with a goal.

We traveled to Eau Claire the next morning for another battle with a regionally-ranked team. We played well, and this was a fun game to watch-Durnin came out with some magic today. I was pretty sure this game was going to be a tide-turner for us... but we lost, 0-1.

Ok-so Maggie H. was a super star against Central... they just couldn't handle her. She put in three goals against the Dutch. Her first two came in the first half at 32 and 33 minutes in. Her third was a PK, after the Dutch goalkeeper denied a goalscoring opportunity when she dragged Kirsten down in the box. Anna and Kendra each had a goal in the first half, and Kirsten wrapped up scoring for the Norse in the 88th minute. Molly M., Kat and Paige recorded assists. Bekah got her first collegiate minutes in goal-a prelude to what was to come Saturday.

Saturday... uffda. A small defensive hiccup cost us the game. We out-played the Spartans in my humble opinion. Our defense stepped up to protect the goal, flinging themselves in front of shots and Bekah made five saves in her first collegiate start. The gals adapted to our coaching changes with ease. We asked them to do a lot on Saturday-and they did it without question.

We're looking forward to hosting BV this Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game will be video streamed, just go to this link: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/luther.portal# and click "Luther Women's Soccer Vs. Buena Vista." The men start off play at 5 p.m. Come watch both Norse teams attack the Beavers.

Alumni Event!!!

Check out this beautiful invite Christina made for the Oct. 2 Alumni Event!

I throw my hands up in the air sometimes...

What a great game! We had some girls play their best game of the year vs. Mac on Sept. 19. The Luther women's soccer team defeated Macalester (1-0) for the first time in school history.






The BEST part of the Mac game... ok one of the best parts... was the fact that we didn't even play our best team soccer. We still have more to give. Kelsey's goal was a beauty-a team effort if you will.




Prior to the Mac game, we lost to St. Olaf, 0-4. Our worst loss in recent history. We played well, up until the PK that Olaf made... then it was sort of all downhill for us.

We bounced back with a win over St. Mary's, 2-0. Both goals were scored by Dani, assisted by Paige. Those were some pretty goals. Stunning actually!

Come down to Dubuque, to catch us in our conference opener on Saturday, Sept. 25 at 3:30 p.m. We're ready to take it to Loras!

Game tonight-streamed online!

Greetings Norse Soccer Fans!

We've got a home game tonight vs. St. Olaf, be there or be square. (Or watch it online if you can't get to Decorah for the game!!) The game will be available here: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/luther.portal#

We play at 5 p.m. and the men follow at 7 p.m. Hope to see you all there!