Central men’s soccer team suffers second half defeat

DUBUQUE- After a scoreless first half the Central College men’s soccer team lost to Loras College 1-0 in its season finale.

Despite the Dutch (7-8-2, 3-4-1 American Rivers) putting four of their six shots on target, they were unable to find the back of the net.

The team was led once again by its defense including Nathan Scholl (freshman, Grimes, Dallas Center Grimes) and Owen Stahl (freshman, Batavia) who led the backline.

“I am incredibly proud of the effort this team gave tonight,” said coach Garry Laidlaw. “(Loras) is a tough place to play and its style is always difficult to play against, but I thought our defensive unit played great with standout performances from Scholl and Stahl.

Goalkeeper Ronan Murphy (senior, Des Moines, Roosevelt HS) stopped five out of the six shots he faced. The lone goal for the Duhawks (9-4-7, 5-1-2 American Rivers) came off a corner in the 65th minute.

Lelong Miyeng (sophomore, Bondurant, Des Moines North HS) led the squad with two shots on goal.

Josh Wilson (sophomore, Altoona, Southeast Polk HS) and Mason Simmons (freshman, Springfield, Ill.) also caught the eye of Laidlaw.

“Wilson held the ball up well, and Simmons gave us some great play off the bench”

The Dutch finish the regular season as the No. 6 seed in the conference and qualify for the conference tournament for the first time since 2019.

Central will have a rematch against Loras in the first round of the tournament Saturday once again in Dubuque. The time is still to be determined.