Men's Soccer Upsets No. 2 Loras, 2-1

The St. Thomas men's soccer team scored a historic win in an upset over No. 2-ranked Loras College 2-1 on Sunday afternoon in Dubuque, Iowa.

The Tommies took advantage of their opportunities, scoring two goals on three shots for the game. They are the first team to defeat the Duhawks in Dubuque since 2011.

The Tommie defense weathered a 24-shot barrage, only six of which were on goal, from the Duhawks to improve to 3-1-0 on the year. Loras drops to 4-1-0.

"Today was a great win for our guys and for our program," stated Head Coach Jon Lowery. "Loras is an outstanding program, having been to the Final Four each of the last two years and the Rock Bowl is a difficult place to play. There is a reason they haven't lost at home in over two years."

St. Thomas jumped out to a 1-0 lead just over four minutes into the game. Junior Miles Stockman-Willis sent a cross into the box. After Loras goalkeeper Sean Elvert deflected it away, junior Matt Bouche finished a header just in front of the net to score his first goal of the season.

UST maintained its lead throughout the remainder of the first half. Although Loras fired 10 shots and had five chances from corner kicks during the half, the Tommie defense held strong and took the 1-0 advantage to the intermission.

It was not until the second half that the Tommies added to their lead. In the 56th minute, freshman Pierce Erickson found the back of the net to take a 2-0 lead. The eventual game-winner came off of a Loras corner kick. After fending off the scoring chance, the Tommies released Miles Stockman-Willis down the sideline. Stockman-Willis then sent a beautifully placed cross to Erickson, who put it away. The goal was Erickson's third of the year.

The Duhawks were finally able to get on the scoreboard in the 72nd minute. Following a save made by UST goalkeeper Mitchell Wolff, Jorge Simon picked up the rebound and sent it in to bring the score to 2-1.

From there, the Duhawks were able to get off three more shots in an attempt to tie the game, but to no avail as the St. Thomas defense remained intact to finish off the upset.

"I am proud of how our guys battled today," mentioned Lowery. "Their effort, organization, and commitment to the plan we had in place was great. We had to weather a little bit of a storm, but we were patient and still put forth the quality to score two great goals. Our guys really did something special."

For the game, Loras held the advantage in most statistical categories, including a 24-3 mark in shots, 6-3 in shots on goal, and a 12-2 tilt in corner kicks.

St. Thomas will look to continue its momentum next weekend when it travels to Superior, Wis., to take on UW-Superior on Saturday, Sept. 13th. That game is set for a 1:00 p.m., start.

"I can't say enough about our guys and what they did not only today, but what they have done up to this point in the season," finished Lowery. "It will be good to get some rest this week before we get back at it next weekend."

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Team Stats

Pierce Erickson

Matt Bouche

Miles Stockman-Willis

University of St. Thomas Athletics