NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- The Loras College men's soccer team (14-6-2, 5-2-1 A-R-C) collected a 2-1 victory over North Central (18-2-1) in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Tournament. The win sets up a second round showdown with host and 12th-ranked St. Olaf (18-2-1) Sunday, November 14 at 1:00 p.m.
Sophomore forward
Reed Miklavcic continued his red-hot postseason, netting two for the Duhawks to advance Loras into the second round. The first goal of the game came at just 7:32 in the first half as forward
Kevin Kucaba sent a pass to
Jose Melo just outside the box, who connected with Miklavcic, where he put a head on the ball sending it past North Central's keeper.
A mere five minutes later, Kucaba again set up a scoring play as he pursued a through ball into the box that pressured North Central's defense and resulted in Kucaba being taken down in the box. The Duhawks were then awarded a penalty kick for a foul in the box. Miklavcic was called on to step up to the dot, taking advantage of the opportunity and tallying his second goal of the match, providing a 2-0 Duhawk advantage at the half.
North Central's offense put the pressure on in the second half and in the 82nd minute found the goal, but the effort wasn't enough as the Duhawks held on to take the 2-1 win.
In goal for Loras, senior keeper
Connor Fitzpatrick recorded five saves on the day.
2021 marks the thirteenth appearance in program history Loras has made it to the NCAA Tournament. The program has made it as far as the Final Four, four times.
St. Olaf defeated Dominican (Ill.) (13-4-2) 3-0 in the first round. St. Olaf's earned one-of-21 at-large berths into this year's NCAA Tournament, marking its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and its first since a run to the sectional semifinals/Round of 16 in 2015. The Oles won the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) regular-season title. St. Olaf went on to advance to the championship game of the MIAC Playoffs before falling, 2-1, to Carleton last Saturday.
The winner of the Northfield, Minn. (St. Olaf) regional will advance to the Sweet Sixteen and play the winner of the Chicago, Ill. (North Park) regional (WashU, Wisconsin-Superior, North Park, Carleton), where WashU and North Park square off in the regional championship. The date, time and location of the Sweet Sixteen will be announced following the completion of all regional sites.
