Pride put up fight but fall 2-1 to No. 20 MidAmerica Nazarene

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Closing out a four-game stretch against teams all mentioned in the NAIA rankings, the Clarke University men's soccer team dropped their third-straight Heart of America Athletic Conference game in a 2-1 final against No. 20 MidAmerica Nazarene University on Friday night.

The Pioneers seemingly controlled a majority of play, especially in the first half as they tested CU keeper Philipp Kohle with 13 shots in the opening 45 mintues, scoring both of their goals in the opening frame first on a Rick Hovinga 25th minute tally followed by a David Stoklasek goal in the 40th minute off of one of the six MNU corner kicks in the period.

The Pride did a better job in the second half to get more shots off, at an even 12-12 between the two teams in the second half but it was still Kohle doing extra work in net, making six saves on to keep the game at 2-0 in his second start to finish the game with 11 saves, the most by any Clarke goalie on the season.

With time running out on the home team, CU's Luke Persenico was able to find some space and fire a shot into the back of the net for his team-leading sixth goal of the season but unfortunately for the Pride only 10 seconds were left on the game clock as the Pioneers killed the remainder of the clock following the ensuing kickoff.

Clarke men's soccer will get back on the road for the first time in two weeks for their next game when they travel to Canton, Mo. for a 7:30 p.m. CT scheduled kickoff against Culver-Stockton College on Oct. 2.