Pride powered by pair of Arana goals in 3-0 win over Spartans

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Getting back on their home turf for the first time in 24 days, the Clarke University men's soccer team snapped a winless streak that lasted just as long with a 3-0 victory over Missouri Baptist University on Saturday night at Burrows Field.

CU was able to play the cleaner game offensively to outshoot the Spartans 15-4 over the entirety of the 90 minutes including taking eight shots on frame compared to just two for MBU as Pride goalkeeper Lucas Fontana only had to make his pair of saves in the first half for his fifth shutout of the season and third in Heart play.

It would be the Pride's leading point scorer finding the back of the net twice in the opening 45 minutes in front of the home faithful as William Arana scored his first goal in the 17th minute off of a set piece taken by Xzavier Campa that deflected off of a Missouri Baptist defender right to the Urbana, Ill. native for his fifth goal of the year.

Arana would add his sixth goal of the 2025 campaign later in the half when he would 34th minute, this time off of a corner kick that was punched out by Spartans goalie Sean Stone to a waiting Arana as he settled the ball with his chest and volleyed a strong left-footed strike into the back of the net to make it 2-0, where the game would stand going into the half.

Another familiar name to Clarke's scoring sheets, Hector Medrano would join in on the scoring fun in the second half when he burried a 53rd-minute goal off of a nice build up passing sequence where Javi Munoz found Yuto Nishio, who made a nice aerial one-touch pass to Evan Lock out wide for a cross to Medrano, as he shot on first touch right at the six-yard box for his fifth goal of the year.

Nearing the final weeks of the 2025 regular season, this win for the Pride moves them into a three-way tie for ninth place in the Heart regular season standings, with Missouri Baptist and Missouri Valley College as all three teams sit a win's worth of points behind the eighth and final tournament spot, currently held by Benedictine College.

Clarke men's soccer will host their second-straight home game next Tuesday, Oct. 21 when they welcome Graceland University to Burrows Field for a scheduled 7:00 p.m. CT kickoff as they follow the women's game set for 5:00 p.m. that night.