St. Ambrose University | Men's Soccer News

Kirby Wagner Roanoke, Ill. Roanoke-Benson HS
Josh Shannon Quincy, Ill.
Nick Loehr Bettendorf, Iowa University of Iowa
Andrew Pieczynski Minooka Community HS
Quinn Cloghessy Bishop Noll Institute HS
Julian Dann Australia
Steffen Baumgarten North Scott HS
Adam Brockaus St. John Vianney HS
Alex Schmitt Dubuque Wahlert HS
Jacob Burd Washington, Ill.
Jon Vince Rhodes Iowa Mennonite
Tom Daley Marist HS
Ryan Kalck Marist HS "Ryan is a skilled wide player with a great change of speed," said SAU head coach Jon Mannall. "It is our pleasure to bring Ryan in to join the squad. He is a well-rounded student-athlete and is well prepared to add to this new direction for St. Ambrose Men's Soccer."

St. Ambrose University announced today that Jon Mannall has been named the University’s head soccer coach. Mannall has coached the SAU women’s soccer team for the last eight seasons and will now also add the men’s coaching duties.

“We are excited to have the school’s first full-time soccer coach dedicated entirely to soccer with no other outside duties,” said SAU Director of Athletics Ray Shovlain. “We think Jon will do an outstanding job with our soccer program.”

Mannall has turned the Queen Bees into a nationally-recognized program over his time at the helm. He has been named the Midwest Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year the last three seasons as his teams have claimed three straight regular season conference crowns.

His 2008 team made the program’s first-ever appearance in the NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championship and his 2009 squad finished 18-2-1 overall, setting a program record for wins in a season, and 7-0-1 in the MCC.

Former St. Ambrose head men’s soccer coach Fr. Robert “Bud” Grant will act as the head men’s junior varsity soccer coach.

“I am definitely excited for this opportunity and think this is a huge step in the right direction for St. Ambrose Soccer,” said Mannall. “This will be a new challenge but I’m excited to get to interact with the men’s program. I am so happy and privileged to be able to step in to the legacy Fr. Bud built with the men’s team.”

A native of London, England, Mannall graduated from Marycrest International University in Davenport, Iowa, while playing soccer and basketball for the Marauding Eagles. Mannall joined St. Ambrose as an assistant women’s soccer coach in 2002 before taking over the program in 2003.

Along with coaching the Queen Bees, Mannall spent six years as the head girls’ soccer coach at Davenport North High School and is the lead coach for the EISA Black Select club team.

After a disappointing season, three St. Ambrose men's soccer players received all-Midwest Collegiate Conference honorable mention. Wes Erickson, Simon Murphy and Tony Villasenor were recognized for their strong seasons.

Erickson, a sophomore midfielder from Norwalk, Iowa, started all 17 games he played. He was one of the Bees' top defenders throughout the year.

Murphy, a sophomore midfielder from Sebestopol, Australia, led the team in scoring with nine goals and four assists. He converted two penalty kicks and two of his goals were game winners. Murphy was one of only three Bees to start all 20 matches this season.

Villasenor, a junior forward from Glen Ellyn, Ill., was third on the team with five goals. He started 14 of the 20 games he played in this year.

A young SAU team, with several freshmen playing prominent roles, finished 4-15-1 overall and 2-5-1 in the MCC this season.

St. Ambrose battled top-seed Ashford through a scoreless first half before the Saints scored a pair of second-half goals to claim a 2-0 win in the Midwest Collegiate Conference championship quarterfinals. The Bees end the season with a 4-15-1 record.

SAU was out-shot 10-3 in the first half but Justin Harper came up with three saves to keep the Bees in the match. Ashford (17-0-2) kept the pressure up in the second half and scored twice, including one goal with just over four minutes to play, to advance to the conference tournament semifinals.

St. Ambrose overcame the rainy conditions to come out ahead over Waldorf 4-1 in a Midwest Collegiate Conference Championship play-in game Thursday afternoon at the Davenport Soccer Complex.

Simon Murphy got things going by knocking in a penalty kick in the 15th minute to put the Fighting Bees up 1-0. During stoppage time, Matt Kraciun took a pass from Tom Williams and made the score 2-0 at the half.

Waldorf didn't let the halftime score get them down as the stormed out of the gate and got on the board on a penalty kick from Abrahao Vinhas to cut the Bees' lead down to 2-1. The Bees finally put Waldorf away when Tony Villasenor scored a goal in the 89th minute to make it 3-1. Murphy quickly followed the goal by Villasenor by scoring his second goal of the game also at the 89th minute to make the final 4-1.

St. Ambrose, the MCC's eighth seed, will be on the road as the team travels to face top seed Ashford University at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1.

St. Ambrose will start the 2009 Midwest Collegiate Conference Men's Soccer Championships at home, but not in the position they'd like.

After a 2-5-1 mark in league play this year, the Bees earned the conference's eighth seed and the right to host Waldorf in a play-in game Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Davenport Soccer Complex. The winner gets to visit MCC regular-season champion and 25th-ranked Ashford in a quarterfinal match on Sunday, Nov. 1.

SAU, 3-14-1 overall, got past Waldorf (5-13, 0-8 MCC) in Forest City, Iowa, 5-2 earlier this season. In that match, the Bees scored three second-half goals after leading just 2-1 at halftime. Simon Murphy scored a pair of goals in the win.

Matt Carlson scored two goals and assisted on another as St. Ambrose defeated Iowa Wesleyan 4-2. The Bees wrap up the regular season with a 3-14-1 overall record and a 2-5-1 mark in the Midwest Collegiate Conference.

SAU never trailed at Iowa Wesleyan but it took a pair of second-half goals to secure the win. Carlson scored an unassisted goal to start the scoring but just five minutes later, Iowa Wesleyan scored the equalizer. Carlson then found Matt Kraciun, who put the Bees back in front 2-1 at the 34:15 mark. Just 31 seconds later, the Tigers knotted the score at 2-2.

Ten minutes into the second half, St. Ambrose took the lead for good on Simon Murphy's penalty kick goal. Carlson added an insurance goal in the 82nd minute.

After traveling to Oskaloosa, Iowa on Saturday, St. Ambrose took on William Penn University (5-8-1). William Penn prevailed in the matchup with a 3-1 victory.

William Penn’s first score, which was also the game’s first score, was a penalty kick 27 minutes in to the matchup. SAU countered this six minutes later with an unassisted goal from Tony Villasenor, their only goal in the bout. William Penn’s two other goals came at the 47 and 85 minute marks.

SAU’s final game will take place on Oct. 24 in Mount Pleasant against Iowa Wesleyan College at 4 p.m.

On Oct. 14, SAU took on Grand View (12-4-1), who stands undefeated in conference, in their final home game of the season, which doubled as the team’s Senior Night. Ambrose was shut out by their talented opponents, falling to 2-13-1 on the season.

The game, which looked to be a mismatch on paper as the two teams’ records stood as polar opposites, proved to be a defensive dogfight early on. Each goalie - SAU’s Justin Harper and GV’s Darren Martin - played for all 90 minutes of the game. Harper, while defending several well-executed shots, let two slip through in the first half before giving up one more in the second period. Martin, however, held a shutout for the entire matchup, leading his team to a 3-0 victory.

In Lamoni, Iowa, the Saint Ambrose Fighting Bees faced off against Graceland University on Saturday in a matchup in which they fell short of victory by one goal. The game, which marked SAU’s 12th loss of the season, was the last of a two-game road trip.

At the 4:55 point, Graceland struck first with a goal from Steffan Delas, who capitalized on teammate Hunter Re’’s assist. SAU fought defeat with a game-tying goal from Tony Villasenor at the 34:12 mark. The goal’s assist came from Adam Mims. Although SAU recorded seven saves in the second period alone, the tie was broken when Graceland’s Andre Sharpe scored at the 77:04 mark after receiving an assist from Diego Gonzalez. Sharpe’s goal, which occurred less than a minute after he received a yellow card, would go undefended for the remainder of the bout, securing a Graceland victory.

The Fighting Bees, who now stand with a record of 2-12-1, look to succeed in their final three games and end the season with some momentum. There final home game will be played this Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 4 p.m. against Grand View University.

As the Fight Bees traveled to Clinton, Iowa, before their attempt to feed off the energy of Sunday’s tie versus Clarke College, SAU realized they were facing off against a titan of an opponent—the undefeated Ashford University (10-0-2-, 2-02) Saints. Despite the fact that the Bees were obviously dubbed as heavy underdogs with their 2-10-1 record, they held their own against the Saints, staying stride for stride with their opponents until the game’s final minutes, when they took a 2-1 loss on the chin.

Both Justin Harper, SAU’s goalie in the bout, and Ashford’s goal keeper Nick Roman displayed tremendous skill in the first period as neither let up a single goal despite the fact that Harper was bombarded with six shots. SAU’s offense, however, only took two shots in the first half.

As the second half began, the game’s offensive action saw even further delay as both defensive continued to battle relentlessly. After successfully defending four Ashford shots, SAU’s Tony Villasenor scored the game’s first goal. With the aid of Simon Murphy’s assist, Villasenor put his squad in excellent position to give the Saints their first defeat of the season 71:12 into the matchup. Minutes later, however, as the clock reached 77:47, Ashford retaliated with Kori Phillips’ second goal of the season. With the regulation clock shortening at the 88:22 mark, Kori Phillips struck again to secure his team’s tenth victory of the year.

SAU’s next challenger, Graceland University, will battle the Bees on Oct. 10 in Lamoni, Iowa at 7 p.m. Including their next bout against Graceland, SAU has four more regular season games remaining.

In their first game since Sept. 30, an eager Fighting Bees squad took the field at home Sunday looking to begin the month of October on a high note. Against a talented Clarke College (4-3-3, 2-1-1 MCC), SAU realized this would not prevail as a simple task. In one of the most exciting games of their season thus far, however, the two teams proved to be of similar caliber, ending the matchup in a 2-2 tie.

Although the game’s first goal was not rewarded to Ambrose until the 27:00 minute mark when Matt Carlson scored off of Jackson Teeling’s assist, the bout proved to be a roller coaster of a battle. Clarke retaliated to Ambrose’s opening goal with an unassisted score from their own Matthew Carlson. Three minutes later, at the 56:00 mark, Simon Murphy immediately retrieved SAU’s lead again after capitalizing on Matt Kraciun’s assist. In the game’s closing minutes, CC’s Kraig Moore knotted the score right back up with an unassisted score.

After two scoreless overtime periods laden of unbreakable defense, the game ended in a tie. SAU (2-10-1, 1-2-1 MCC) will take on Ashford University Tuesday at 2 p.m. in Clinton, Iowa, where they will look to spark a winning streak as they head into the season’s close.

The Fighting Bees began the first matchup of their two-game home stand Wednesday with great optimism, coming off a victory on the road against Waldorf that snapped a six-game losing streak. However, a talented Mount Mercy College (6-3-3, 2-0-1) squad crushed their high hopes early with an explosive offensive attack.

Mount Mercy’s first score came 17 minutes into the first half, when Enrique Cortina took an advantage of an opportunity created by teammate Vladimir Virovkic’s assist. Six minutes later, at the 23 minute mark, Mercy struck again when Sid Beck doubled his team’s lead. Before the first half was over, Mount Mercy scored once more, when Marko Urlic fed off Nebojsa Jevtovic’s assist, giving the team a 3-0 lead at the end of the period.

Mount Mercy’s Vladimir Virovkic, who recorded the game’s first assist, scored the only goal of the second half after picking up on Drago Ceranic’s assist. MMC goalie Nenad Simovic recorded two saves in the game and was awarded with a shutout. He defended the net to perfection until the games 77 minute mark, when Joshua Putz took over for the final 13 minutes, recording one save. Mercy defeated Ambrose in the bout with a final score of 3-0. With the loss, SAU fell to 2-10 on the season.

The Fighting Bees’ next challenger is Clarke College, who will face SAU at home on Oct. 3 at 1 p.m.

Snapping a six-game losing streak, the St. Ambrose Fighting Bees defeated Waldorf College (4-7) Saturday in Forest City, Iowa. The game, which drew a crowd of about 130 spectators, marked the end of a long, agonizing period that the Bees are happy to put behind them.

After receiving an assist from Jeff Livigni, SAU’s Simon Murphy jumpstarted his team’s offense with a goal at the 4:37 mark. Waldorf, who found themselves desperately searching for their first conference victory, retaliated with an unassisted goal from Andrew Isben five minutes later. However, Matt Carlson’s unassisted rebuttal at the 41:10 mark would send Ambrose into the half with a narrow 2-1 lead.

Creating some much needed space between the two scores, SAU’s Simon Murphy struck again at the game’s 46:32 mark by scoring on a penalty kick. Waldorf, reluctant to fall behind, put the game within one score again with an unassisted goal from Joey Morales. SAU, who refused to continue on in their unsuccessful fashions any longer, put any doubt of them snapping their losing streak to rest as they finished the game strong, with two more goals coming from Jackson Teeling and Matt Kraciun.

SAU looks to continue their recent success at home on Sept. 30, where they will take on Mt. Mercy College at 4 p.m.

In Omaha, Neb., SAU looked for a huge confidence booster as they battled for victory against #23 Bellevue University. After an exciting game, Saint Ambrose came up a point short in what some might consider a moral victory. At this point, the team is desperately searching for improvement in any form.

The first half was harsh on the Fighting Bees, as their strong defense began to look feeble early, giving up two goals in the period. After four unsuccessful shots within the game’s first twenty minutes - compared to SAU’s one - Bellevue broke the double shutout as the clock read 20:44. Bellevue’s Mark Preston, who scored the goal, tacked on his second goal shortly after at the 23:34 mark. Both teams shot aggresivley for the remainder of the half, but the score remained at 2-0.

The second half started off slow, but Simon Murphy eventually put the Fighting Bees on the board at the 65 minute mark. SAU fought viscously to keep Bellevue within one, but their offense struggled as they only attempted three goals in the remainder of the half with all three being misses. Ambrose fell to 1-9 as they clock descended.

SAU will again attempt to snap their losing streak on Sept. 26 against Waldorf College of Forest City, Iowa.

The Saint Ambrose Fighting Bees men’s soccer team, after returning from a winless four-game road trip, hoped desperately to close the woeful streak with a home-win against Viterbo University on Sept. 19. Viterbo (4-4, 1-0 MCC), however, viscously shot down SAU’s prayers for a season turnaround in their 3-1 victory in Davenport.

The first goal, coming from Viterbo at the first period’s 37 minute mark, came unassisted from James Lockley. It was one of Viterbo’s four shots in the first half. The Fighting Bees also shot four times, but were unsuccessful on all attempts.

In the second half, SAU’s Tony Villasenor knotted up the score at 1-1 with a goal at the 74 minute mark. The goal’s assist came from Seth Rissmann. After an immediate rebuttle from VU’s Jamie Robertson at the 75 minute mark, the Fighting Bees found themselves in another defecit. Ten minutes later, Viterbo’s Adam Porteous would secure his team’s victory with their third goal of the game. Viterbo shot seven times in the second half, compared to SAU’s five attempts.

On Sept. 22, the Fighting Bees will take on Bellevue University in Omaha, Neb. The game will take place at 2 p.m.

The St. Ambrose University Fighting Bees, who were looking to shine some light onto the end of an atrocious road trip before heading back to Davenport, took on talented and undefeated Judson University in Elgin, Ill. Thursday. The JU Eagles, who have now jumpstarted their season with a 6-0 record for the fifth time in 20 years, are a powerful squadron that proved to be a serious threat to SAU.

Regardless of their impressive offense, JU failed to score until the game’s 55th minute. Although the Eagles attempted eight first half shots, Ambrose managed to hold the score at 0-0 throughout the period. The Fighting Bees offense, on the other hand, continued their offensive woes by only taking three shots in the half, with two coming from Curtis Davis and the other being a high miss from Chris Lavin.

Eventually, Judson’s Corey Burke drilled a tiebreaking goal to give his team some breathing room. Later, in the second half’s 80th minute, Tony Villasenor of Saint Ambrose helped his team struggle for life with a sharp shot towards JU’s Tyton, who miraculously saved SAU’s last hope for an upset. The Fighting Bees would not attempt another shot on goal in the period. JU’s Tyton, who completed his third shutout of the season in the bout, is a force to be reckoned with on goal and was too much for the struggling SAU offense.

The Fighting Bees will attempt to slow their bleeding on Saturday, Sept. 19, when they will play a one-game home stand versus Viterbo University at 1 p.m. The game, which is surely critical to the future of the 2009 SAU team, will be a Midwest Classic Conference matchup.

In their second bout in Hastings, Neb., the St. Ambrose University Fighting Bees - who fell to Columbia College on the previous evening - looked to avenge their loss by defeating the Hastings College Broncos. Hastings, who stood at 2-2 prior to the match, looked to break the .500 mark of their record by defeating a struggling, young SAU team. For the Broncos, the game marked the end of a Holiday Inn Express Classic that they had remained undefeated in so far.

Just as they had the previous day, SAU started off slow offensively, taking only two shots in the first half. Hastings, however, shot consistently but unsuccessfully for bulk of the first period as the Fighting Bees showed off their strong defense until the 30:59 mark, when Hasting’s AJ Dingledine created an offensive explosion. Dingledine recorded three goals in roughly three minutes, receiving assists from Pat Dingledine, Joel Pedroza, and Yannic Thiel. The period ended with Hastings in control of a 3-0 lead.

The Broncos success carried into the second half, where SAU would not get off a single shot. Instead, Hastings continued their offensive attack by racking up four more goals. Despite their early failures this season, SAU has displayed strong defense overall. Against Hastings, however, they seemed to slip farther away from the upper hand on both sides of the ball as the game went on.

If the Fighting Bees hope to see their early shortcomings cease to exist, they will need to display a vast offensive improvement in their upcoming matchups. On Sept. 17 they will attempt to end their road trip on a high note in Elgin, Ill. against Judson University.

Looking to avenge their 1-2 overtime loss to Cardinal Stritch University, the St. Ambrose Fighting Bees traveled to Hastings, Neb. on Sept 12 to face off against Columbia College before taking on Hasting College the next day. The Fighting Bees hoped to spark this short road trip on a high note as they entered the game under a party cloudy sky in the midst of 75 degree temperatures.

The game began as a defensive battle with SAU goalie Kyle DeRaedt saving two goals in the half’s first four minutes. The Fighting Bees offense, however, struggled early and did not take their first shot - a wide attempt from Simon Murphy - until the 4:40 mark. SAU unsuccessfully fired two more shots in the half before CC’s Yudai Yamaguchi gave his team the lead at the 16:53 mark. Columbia continued to shoot heavily for the remainder of the half, but Deraedt recorded three more saves and held the first period score at 1-0.

The second period only led to more offensive woes for the Fighting Bees. SAU took only one second-half shot, coming from Matt Carlson, which was saved by CC goalie Ken Searles. Columbia continued to outplay the Fighting Bees with the ball by further extending their aggressive shooting methods, eventually placing another goal on the board at 84:47 mark. CC’s Ken Searles completed a 2-0 shutout as the Fighting Bees fell to 1-5.

Coming off their first victory of the season, the St. Ambrose Fighting Bees men’s soccer team faced off against Cardinal Stritch University Wednesday evening looking to further extend their success. The game, which took place on Stritch’s home field in Milwaukee, Wis., would eventually evolve into the second consecutive bout in which in the Fighting Bees took place in an overtime period.

At the first half’s 15 minute mark, SAU Sophomore Simon Murphy scored after taking advantage of Jackson Teeling’s assist, giving the Fighting Bees a 1-0 lead. Despite four CSU shots in the remainder of the half, Ambrose maintained its 1-0 lead for the entire period. Senior goalie Justin Harper recorded two SAU saves in the half - the other four CSU shots were wide.

While the Fighting Bees offense struggled in the second half, defensive efforts remained strong. With a minute remaining in the period, however, Cardinal Stritch’s Andy Collins broke the shutout by recording his second goal of the season. As the regulation clock ran down to zero, the score remained even at 1-1. SAU, after winning their previous game in golden goal overtime fashion, may have been a bit overconfident as they entered the final period of play.

As both teams were fatigued, they both looked to end the match in their favor as early as possible to avoid further tiring. An eager Ambrose team was burdened one minute into the period with an offside foul, and two minutes later Cardinal Stritch’s David Perich ended a gut-wrenching battle by scoring off Elliot Magnant’s assist.

The Fighting Bees will attempt to redeem themselves on September 12 at 5:15 p.m. when they will take on Columbia College in Hastings, Neb.

After falling short in their first three games, the St. Ambrose University Fighting Bees men’s soccer team squared off against the Ottawa University Braves hungry for their first victory. Ottawa, who entered the matchup with a record of 0-2, was also searching aggressively for its first victory of 2009.

The Braves displayed their will against traveling back to Ottawa, Kan., without their first win early with two first-half goals - one coming from Philip Nguyen four minutes into the bout and the other attack striking five minutes later from Tyler Curbow. In retaliation, St. Ambrose’s Seth Rissmann scored with six minutes remaining in the half. As the game’s second half began, Ottawa held a 2-1 lead over the Fighting Bees.

Displaying a strong determination to knot up the score and spin his team’s slow start to the season in another direction, SAU’s Adam Mims succeeded in an attempted goal to tie the game at 2. The score remained even as the second half clock descended, sending the game into overtime.

Upon the 98-minute mark, St. Ambrose freshman Matt Carlson scored the game winning goal, helping his team receive what they hope to be the first of many wins. Carlson is one of his team’s many younger members, and as the season goes on the team is bound to improve their skills through experience.

The Fighting Bees, who remain unsatisfied with their record, are currently preparing for September 9th’s 5 p.m. game in Milwaukee, Wis., where they will fight viscously for their second victory of the season against Cardinal Stritch University (1-2).

Matt Carlson scored a pair of goals but it wasn't enough as St. Ambrose lost 3-2 at Trinity Christian Thursday night. The Bees are 0-3.

Each team took 12 shots but St. Ambrose managed to put eight shots on goal while Trinity Christian put only four on frame. Trinity scored first, getting a goal midway through the first half. Late in the first half, Carlson scored his first collegiate goal to knot the score at 1-1.

TCC took the lead for good early in the second half with a goal at the 51:59 mark. Later in the half, the SAU deficit moved to 3-1.

Carlson scored his second goal with just under 10 minutes left to pull the Bees to within a goal, but SAU could not find the equalizer.

St. Ambrose will look to end its losing streak at home against Ottawa Sunday at 12 p.m. at the Davenport Soccer Complex.

St. Ambrose dropped to 0-2 after losing 2-0 to Loras at the Davenport Soccer Complex Tuesday afternoon.

Loras scored single goals in each half to get the win. St. Ambrose managed eight shots, five of them on goal, but could not find the back of the net.

Simon Murphy scored the lone St. Ambrose goal as the Bees opened up the 2009 season with a 6-1 loss to Bethel at the Davenport Soccer Complex.

Bethel scored four first-half goals in out-shooting the Bees 9-2. SAU was more competitive in the second half, getting six shots off and limiting Bethel to four. Murphy scored in the 72nd minute to help SAU avoid the shutout.

Men's Soccer News - 2009-10