CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The semifinals are set in the 2023 American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Men’s Soccer Tournament after two hard fought first round matches that took place this evening. The semifinals are set to be played Wednesday, November 1^st in Dubuque and Waverly. The winners of the two matches will meet at the higher seed for the championship match on Saturday, November 4^th.
 
The No. 3 seed University of Dubuque Spartans (8-8-2 overall, 5-2-1 A-R-C) advanced to the semifinals with a hard fought 1-0 victory over the No. 6 seed Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves (10-4-4 overall, 3-3-2 A-R-C) Saturday evening at a cold Oyen Field. The lone goal came in the 51^st minute of the game when Gavin Wooldridge found the back of the net after an assist from Jos Van Hille.
 
With the win, the Spartans will now prepare to square off with the No. 2-seeded Wartburg College Knights (10-1-6 overall, 5-1-2 A-R-C). The Knights are entering the match after a second-place finish in the regular season standings, earning a first-round bye. Last time out on the pitch for Wartburg, they picked up a big 2-0 win over the Buena Vista Beavers in the regular season finale on Tuesday, October 24^th. Dubuque and Wartburg met back on September 23^rd where the Knights picked up a 3-0 win.
 
Kickoff is to be determined from Salzwedel Field in Waverly on the campus of Wartburg College. The winner will earn a spot in the conference tournament championship match set for Saturday, November 4^th at the highest remaining seed.
 
The No. 4 seed Luther College Norse (6-7-6 overall, 4-3-1 A-R-C) enters the semifinals after advancing in a 4-2 shootout in the snowy Decorah Valley. The Norse and the No. 5 seed Simpson College Storm (7-10-1 overall, 4-4-0 A-R-C) were tied 3-3 after regulation to send them into two overtime periods. During the overtime periods, both teams were held scoreless, resulting in a shootout to determine the advancing team. Scoring for Luther during the regulation period were Lenny Lechner and Ramzi Ouro-Akondo (2). Lechner tied the game at one apiece in the 19^th minute of the game while Ouro-Akondo put the Norse on top in the 41^st minute. His second goal came with under five minutes to play to tie the match back at three. The Storm were on the board first with a Ben Reynolds goal in the 7^th minute and tied the game after Reynolds found the back of the net with under 15 seconds left in the first half. Andrew Russell put the Storm up 3-1 in the 66^th minute after he scored on a pass from Ronaldo Ordaz-Zambrano.
 
With the win, Luther will now head to Dubuque, Iowa to square off with the No. 1 seed Loras College Duhawks (11-3-4 overall, 6-2-0 A-R-C). The Duhawks had a first-round bye after claiming the top seed in the conference tournament for the second year in a row. Last time on the pitch for Loras was Tuesday, October 24^th when the Duhawks defeated Central 2-1. Luther and Loras met back on October 18^th when the Duhawks got the upperhand with a 1-0 victory.
 
Kickoff from the Rock Bowl is to be determined on Wednesday, November 1^st. The winner will earn a spot in the conference tournament championship match set for Saturday, November 4^th at the highest remaining seed.