Men's Soccer

Men's Soccer News - 2011-12

Kraciun, Winking earn all-conference honorable mention

Nov. 9, 2011

Matt Kraciun (left) and Jared Winking (right) received all-conference honorable mention as the Midwest Collegiate Conference announced its post season men's soccer awards today.

Kraciun, a junior midfielder from Bettendorf, Iowa, led St. Ambrose with six goals this season. He added a pair of assists to finish with a team-high 14 points. Three of his goals were game winners.

Winking, a junior defender from Quincy, Ill., was one of two Bees to start every game this season. Along with his strong defensive work, Winking scored two goals and had two assists.

SAU finished the 2011 season 4-13-1 overall and 2-6 in the MCC.

Rhodes named to Capital One Academic All-District team

Nov. 7, 2011

Sophomore defender Jon Rhodes (right) was named to the 2011-12 Capital One Academic All-District 5 Men's Soccer team today.

The honor, as voted on by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performance on the playing field and in the classroom. Nominees must be starters or important reserves, sophomores or older, with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average.

Rhodes, from Kalona, Iowa, is majoring in Exercise Science at St. Ambrose University. He scored one goal and added two assists for the Bees this season.

Rhodes represents District 5, which includes NAIA and two-year colleges from Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and Wisconsin. He now moves on to the Academic All-America ballot.

SAU's season ends at Grand View

Oct. 30, 2011

St. Ambrose had its 2011 season with a 3-0 loss at Grand View in the Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament quarterfinals. The Bees end the campaign with a 4-13-1 record.

SAU played #9 Grand View to a 0-0 tie through the first half. But the Vikings scored three second-half goals on 10 shots to get the win and advance to the conference tournament semifinals. Grand View (16-2-1) finished with a 17-7 edge in shots.

Kyle Williams (right) came up with five saves in goal for the Bees.

Regular season co-champion and tournament second seed Grand View will host third-seeded Ashford Sunday afternoon in a tournament semifinal. Top-seed Mount Mercy hosts fifth-seed Viterbo in the draw's other semifinal match.

SAU opens MCC Tournament at Grand View

Oct. 22, 2011

MCC Tournament bracket

St. Ambrose will open the 2011 Midwest Collegiate Conference Men's Soccer Tournament at #6 Grand View on Sunday, Oct. 30, at 2 p.m.

The Bees, 4-12-1 overall and 2-6 in MCC play, finished seventh in the conference and will open in Des Moines, Iowa, against a nationally-ranked Grand View team that is 14-2-1 overall and earned a share of the MCC regular-season title with a 7-1 league mark.

The Vikings suffered their lone conference loss and home-field advantage throughout the tournament in a 2-1 overtime setback to co-conference champ Mount Mercy Saturday afternoon.

St. Ambrose fell to Grand View 5-1 during the regular season.

Bees fall in regular-season finale

Oct. 22, 2011

by Tim McNicholas

St. Ambrose lost its final home game 6-1 to Jamestown. It was also SAU’s final game of regular season play.

SAU’s only goal was the game’s first. Jacob Peiper (right) scored off Mike Lattyak’s assist 24 minutes in.

From there on out it was all Jamestown. After a game-tying goal from Ross Pereleberg, Jamestown scored four straight unassisted goals. Two of the goals came from Dominic O’Connor.

All three SAU goalies played in the game. Matt Tucker recorded four saves and Jaime Nassar-Velaquez recorded two. Jason Gough played two minutes in goal.

SAU will close out the season in the MCC Tournament. They’ll play Grand View in the opener on Oct. 30.

St. Ambrose drops 3-0 decision at William Penn

Oct. 21, 2011

by Tim McNicholas

William Penn dealt St. Ambrose their sixth conference loss on Friday. SAU was shutout 3-0 in the game in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

The game remained scoreless until Jordan Hoffman’s goal at 38:44. Jeff Kelly recorded the assist.

Joshua Jacobs scored the game’s final two goals. The first was unassisted and the second was assisted again by Kelly.

William Penn outshot SAU 18 to 8. Sam Gurski, who recorded 5 saves in the game, was awarded the shutout.

SAU will take on Jamestown at Saturday at the Davenport Soccer Complex.

Bees fall to rival Augustana 3-1

Oct. 16, 2011

by Tim McNicholas

Coming off a rough loss to Ashford, SAU took on Augustana, the #7 team in NCAA Division III, in Rock Island, Ill., on Sunday. The Vikings outshot SAU 23-9, but scarcely evaded a loss.

Augustana’s John McSpadden scored goal number three on the season to give his team an early lead. Sean Fidlow doubled that lead with his 10th of the season.

Jacob Peiper (right) scored off Mark Serio’s assist to put SAU within one late in the period, but Fidlow scored again to give Augustana a late 3-1 lead.

Augustana goalie Steven Zahrobsky gave up the first period goal, which remained SAU’s lone score. Brett Johnson replaced Zahrobsky in the second period.

SAU goalie Matt Tucker recorded six saves.

St. Ambrose (4-10-1) will take on conference foe William Penn on Friday in Oskaloosa, Iowa. It will be their final regular season road game of the year.

St. Ambrose shut out at Ashford

Oct. 12, 2011

by Tim McNicholas

Ashford defeated SAU 7-0 on Wednesday in Clinton, Iowa. Ashford goalie Danny James recorded four saves in the shutout.

Lucas Almeida started of the scoring with his eighth goal of the season about three minutes in. Craig Butcher and Javier Ramirez assisted the goal. Ramirez picked up his second assist when Butcher put Ashford up by two later in the period.

Ramirez picked up his third goal of the season in the beginning of the second period. Ashford’s Peter Bechtel followed up with two quick goals, one assisted by Butcher. Javier Ramirez picked up another assist in the game’s sixth goal and Sam Etim closed out the scoring with his first goal of the season.

SAU was outshot 35-4. Goalies Matt Tucker (right) and Jaime Nassar-Velaquez split time and recorded six saves each.

SAU, now 4-9-1 overall and 2-5 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference, will take on Augustana in Rock Island on Sunday.

St. Ambrose stops skid with win at Waldorf

Oct. 9, 2011

by Tim McNicholas

SAU snapped a six-game losing streak with a 4-1 win in Forest City, Iowa, Sunday. The victory over Waldorf College was the Fighting Bees’ second conference win this year and improved the team to 4-8-1 overall and 2-4 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference.

Waldorf’s Danny Minniti gave his team an early lead on a penalty kick, but it was Waldorf’s only goal of the game. Waldorf goalie Erik Hundevad shut SAU out in the first period, but Derek Hanrahan (right) tied the game 55 minutes in.

Five minutes later, Matt Kraciun gave SAU the lead with an unassisted goal. Off Jared Winking’s assist, Hanrahan scored his second goal to put SAU up 3-1. Mark Serio scored the final goal.

SAU outshot Waldorf 22-10. Despite giving up four goals, Hundevad had eight saves. SAU goalie Matt Tucker saved three shots.

The Fighting Bees will travel to Clinton, Iowa, on Wednesday to face Ashford at 7 p.m. Ashford is one of the two remaining conference opponents on SAU’s schedule.

Bees lose non-conference match at Dordt

Oct. 8, 2011

Dordt scored 22 minutes into an eventual 1-0 non-conference win over St. Ambrose Saturday afternoon. The Bees drop to 3-8-1 overall.

Dordt out-shot SAU 14-5 but managed only one goal. St. Ambrose goalkeeper Matt Tucker came up with four saves in the loss.

The Bees return to Midwest Collegiate Conference action Sunday by visiting Waldorf.

Mount Mercy defeats St. Ambrose 5-1

Oct. 4, 2011

by Tim McNicholas

Mount Mercy University dealt St. Ambrose its fourth Midwest Collegiate Conference loss on Tuesday by a 5-1 score. Goalie Josh Putz carried Mount Mercy (5-5-2, 3-1) with seven saves and only one allowed goal.

SAU (3-7-1, 1-4) was shutout in the first period. The game remained scoreless until MMU’s Enrique Cortina assisted Matt Rumery 33 minutes in for the game’s first goal. Ten minutes later, Sid Beck’s goal put MMU up 2-0.

Beck scored again at 53:00, capitalizing on Josip Druzijanic’s pass. Druzijanic scored the fourth goal, giving MMU a commanding lead an hour into play.

SAU scored their lone goal 61 minutes in. Derek Hanrahan (right) scored unassisted.

MMU’s Cortina picked up his second assist with four minutes remaining, putting his team up 5-1.

The Fighting Bees are looking to snap their five-game skid in Sioux Center, Iowa, on Saturday. Dordt and SAU will begin play at 4 pm.

St. Ambrose shut out by Clarke

Oct. 1, 2011

by Tim McNicholas

Clarke (6-4, 4-0 MCC) shut out St. Ambrose (3-6-1, 1-3 MCC) in their fourth straight loss on Saturday. Clarke’s 3-0 victory kept them undefeated in the MCC.

Clarke got on the board early with a goal from Dino Ramic, assisted by Jared Perez, four minutes into play. SAU freshman goalie Jaime Nassar-Velasquez (right), however, held the score at 1-0 until 72 minutes in. Nassar-Velasquez record five saves in the game.

Ramic picked up an assist in Clarke’s second goal and scored again at 80:00 to secure the 3-0 win. Clarke goalie Luke Van Meveren picked up five saves in the shutout.

SAU has dropped three straight MCC games. They’ll look to bounce back on Tuesday at home against Mount Mercy, another conference foe. The game, which takes place during Homecoming week, will be the last of SAU's four-game home stand.

Bees fall 5-1 to Grand View

Sept. 28, 2011

by Tim McNicholas

Grand View (9-1, 3-0) outshot SAU (3-5-1, 1-2) 28-6 on Sept. 28 in a 5-1 win over the Fighting Bees.

Grand View began shooting early, recording 13 shots in the first half, but didn’t score until 27 minutes in. Jonny Macadam assisted that goal and the following two.

Grand View took a 5-0 lead before SAU’s Matt Kraciun (right) scored his team’s lone goal. Kraciun was assisted by Jon Rhodes. The goal was the Fighting Bees’ only shot on net in the game.

SAU’s next game is Oct. 1 at home. The Fighting Bees will take on Clarke (5-4, 3-0) in another MCC matchup.

Viterbo hands SAU first conference loss

Sept. 24, 2011

Box score | Video highlights

by Tim McNicholas

Viterbo University (5-3-1, 1-1 MCC) dealt St. Ambrose (3-4-1, 1-1 MCC) its first Midwest Collegiate Conference loss on Saturday in Davenport with a 3-1 win. The game was the first of a four-game home stand for the Fighting Bees.

Viterbo’s Chris Bagshaw gave his team an early lead, capitalizing on James Lockey’s assist 13 minutes in. Four minutes later, SAU’s Tirelo Morake assisted Jared Winking (right) in the game-tying goal to bounce back.

The 1-1 score stood until 48:00, when VU’s Andy Sadowsyj passed to Jake Wenzel for go-ahead goal. Sadowsyj scored again around 60:00 in, giving Viterbo some insurance.

Viterbo held their 3-1 lead for the game’s remainder. They outshot SAU 9-6.

St. Ambrose will continue its home stand Wednesday. The Bees will take on conference rival Grand View at 2 p.m.

Three-match unbeaten streak snapped at McKendree

Sept. 18, 2011

by Tim McNicholas

Undefeated McKendree (6-0) shut out Ambrose (3-3-1) 4-0 on Saturday in Lebanon, Ill. The game was the finale of SAU’s three-game road stretch.

McKendree took an early lead when Kavel Smith assisted Anthony Grant for the game’s first goal. Kavel recorded another assist 12 minutes in by corner kicking to Tom Ward to double McKendree’s lead. Five minutes later, Richard Henderson scored his first goal of the season off Anthony Grant’s pass.

Freshman goalie Jaime Nassar-Velasquez (right) entered the game 20 minutes in and recorded eight saves for Ambrose. He surrendered his only goal to Sam James on a penalty kick at 39:23.

For their second MCC game, Ambrose will take on Viterbo at home this Saturday. The game, which will be the first of four straight MCC games at home for the Bees, starts at 3 p.m. at the Davenport Soccer Complex.

SAU defeats Iowa Wesleyan 3-2 in double overtime

Sept. 17, 2011

by Tim McNicholas

In double-overtime, St. Ambrose (3-2-1, 1-0 MCC) picked up its second straight win Friday in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. The 3-2 victory over Iowa Wesleyan (1-5, 0-1 MCC) was the first Midwest Collegiate Conference game of the year for both teams.

At the 7:10 mark, SAU’s Matt Kraciun scored first on a penalty kick. IWC’s Max Tefo responded almost immediately by scoring off Chris Matthews’ assist.

Twenty-eight minutes in, IWC took the lead with a goal from Conor Twomey. About 10 minutes later, Kraciun redirected a corner kick to Jared Winking (right) to tie the game at 2-2. The score remained knotted for the rest of regulation and the first overtime.

Jon Rhodes scored the game winner at 103:26, picking up on Kraciun’s second assist.

Both goalies picked up five saves in the matchup. For SAU, the game was the second of a three-game road trip. The Bees will visit McKendree Sunday afternoon.

Bees shut out Trinity International on the road

Sept. 12, 2011

by Tim McNicholas

St. Ambrose shut out Trinity International 3-0 Monday in the Bees' first road game of the year. SAU goalie Matt Tucker picked up his third shutout this season to help the team improve to 2-2-1 overall.

The game’s first goal came from Matt Kraciun at the 5:52 mark. Kraciun (right) tapped in a pass from Tirelo Morake. Morake joined the scoring himself 23 minutes in, scoring the game’s second goal on a breakaway. The first half ended with SAU up 2-0.

Kraciun scored a second goal at 73:43 on a penalty kick. The Fighting Bees took five more shots before the game’s end, but finished with the three goals. They shot twice as many times as Trinity, recording 19 shots and 11 shots on goal.

Tucker recorded three saves.

The Fighting Bees will travel to Mount Pleasant, Iowa, on Saturday to face Iowa Wesleyan in the first conference match of the season.

Tucker named MCC Defensive Player of the Week

Sept. 12, 2011

Junior goalkeeper Matt Tucker (right) was named the Midwest Collegiate Conference Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week today after his outstanding performance against Loras.

Tucker turned away all 18 shots he faced to help the Bees earn a 0-0 double-overtime tie against Loras. In a shootout for the Bishop's Cup, he came up with two crucial saves to help SAU win the trophy.

This season, Tucker is 2-1-1 with three shutouts. He has a 0.68 goals against average.

St. Ambrose will begin MCC play Saturday at 3 p.m. at Iowa Wesleyan before visiting McKendree for a non-conference match Sunday at 2 p.m. The Bees next home game is Saturday, Sept. 24, when the team welcomes Viterbo to the Davenport Soccer Complex for a 3 p.m. game.

Bees bring home Bishop's Cup in tie vs. Loras

Sept. 9, 2011

With two overtime losses in three games already this season, it was understandable if the St. Ambrose men's soccer team was a little nervous when its game against Loras headed to overtime in a scoreless tie.

But with the Bishop's Cup on the line, junior goalkeeper Matt Tucker helped SAU preserve the 0-0 tie Saturday night at the Muscatine Soccer Complex and ultimately bring home the trophy in a shootout.

Tucker (right) came up with 18 saves, including three in overtime, to shut out Loras, the 16th-ranked team in NCAA Division III. His work in goal helped the Bees get the tie despite being out-shot 35-6.

With the teams still deadlocked after 110 minutes, the Bishop's Cup was decided by a shootout.

Four of each team's first five shooters scored, including Alex Schmitt, Chris Davisson, Jacob Peiper and Michael Lattyak from SAU. Wes Erickson and Loras's shooter each scored in the sixth round before Tucker came up with a save in the seventh round. Greg Slater ended the shootout by beating the Duhawk keeper.

The Bees, now 1-2-1 overall, will next hit the road for the first time this season by visiting Trinity International for

Another overtime heartbreak for St. Ambrose

Sept. 7, 2011

For the second time in just three games this season, St. Ambrose lost in overtime. This time, the Bees fell 1-0 to Trinity Christian at the Davenport Soccer Complex.

Thanks to some outstanding saves by goalkeeper Kyle Williams (right), St. Ambrose and Trinity Christian ended regulation in a scoreless 0-0 tie. Williams came up with six of his 10 saves in the first half.

Seven minutes into overtime, Williams made a save but was unable to corral the rebound. Koyah Bleah found the ball after a scramble in front and buried a shot into the empty net.

The Bees are no strangers to overtime, having lost their season-opener 3-2 to Northwestern in 108 minutes.

SAU will make its only stop in Muscatine, Iowa, Friday to host Loras at 6 p.m. at the Muscatine Soccer Complex.

Kraciun's goal proves to be game winner

Sept. 4, 2011

by Tim McNicholas

St. Ambrose (1-1) out-shot Culver-Stockton 14-5 in Sunday's 1-0 win at the Davenport Soccer Complex. The Fighting Bees picked up their first victory of the season.

SAU's Matt Kraciun (right) broke a scoreless tie with a penalty kick 73 minutes it. It proved to be the only goal of the game.

Ten of the Bees' 14 shots were on goal, leaving CSC goalie Sergio Hernandez with nine saves. SAU's Matt Tucker recorded two saves in his shutout.

The Bees will take on Trinity Christian (2-1) on Wednesday at the Davenport Soccer Complex. The game starts at 5 p.m.

Bees drop season opener in overtime

Aug. 27, 2011

by Tim McNicholas

In the season opener, St. Ambrose took Northwestern College (Iowa) into double overtime before surrendering a final goal to Northwestern's Mario Garcia. The 3-2 victory was Northwestern's first of the season.

Three goals were scored over a two-minute stretch early in the match. SAU senior Mike Lattyak (left) scored 10 minutes in off Wes Erickson's assist. Only a minute later, SAU's Jared Winking assisted Jacob Peiper (right) to give the Bees a 2-0 lead.

Northwestern's Jason Tessman scored as the 12-minute mark to cut the Bees' lead in half. The score remained 2-1 until 24 minutes in, when Northwestern's Taylor Biggs scored an unassisted goal to tie the match.

The offenses slowed down as neither team was able to score in the second half or the first overtime. The game appeared to be heading to a draw, until Garcia scored at the 108-minute mark off a pass from Matt Dowie.

Northwestern out-shot St. Ambrose 15-7, but SAU goalie Matt Tucker recorded six saves, including four in the first half.

SAU will next host Culver-Stockton on Saturday, Sept. 3.

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