LINCOLN, Neb. (November 4th, 2024) - After earning a thrilling penalty shootout victory over Luther on Wednesday, Nebraska Wesleyan is set to face Wartburg in the American Rivers Conference championship match.
LOCATION, GAME TIME, LIVE STREAM & LIVE STATS
Nebraska Wesleyan will face Wartburg at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 9th. The match will be played at Salzwedel Field, in Waverly, Iowa.. Wartburg will
live stream the match and carry live stats.
ABOUT THE PRAIRIE WOLVES
Nebraska Wesleyan (12-7, 5-3 A-R-C) defeated Luther in their last match, courtesy of a clutch goal from
Brenden Zuerlein that pushed the match to overtime, five tough saves from
Zachary Weis, and an intense five round shootout that tested the team mentally and physically. The Prairie Wolves enter Saturday averaging 1.68 goals per match, and allowing 1.11 goals per match. The Black and Gold have taken 247 shots, with 122 on target, and notched 26 assists.
TEAM LEADERS THROUGH 17 GAMES
Goals:
Zachary McClanathan - 4
Assists:
Samuel Schendt - 7
Points:
Samuel Schendt - 11
Shots:
Owen Glogowski - 26
Shots on Goal:
Owen Glogowski - 13
Saves:
Zachary Weis - 95
HEAD COACH BRANDON BONILLA
Brandon Bonilla is in his seventh season as head coach, with an overall record of 51-47-14. Bonilla has taken the Prairie Wolves to the second round of the A-R-C tournament in two of the last three seasons. This will be Bonilla's first time in a conference championship game.
SEASON OF FIRSTS
2024 has been a season of firsts for the Nebraska Wesleyan men's soccer team. The Prairie Wolves enter Saturday having won 12 matches in a single season for the first time since 2008. With a win on Saturday, NWU would record its eighth 13 win season in program history and first since 2002. Saturday will also mark Nebraska Wesleyan's first appearance in the American Rivers Conference championship match.
TIMELY OFFENSE AND DEFENSE
Through two tournament matches, Nebraska Wesleyan has made timely plays to advance. In the opening round match against Simpson, it was a 21st minute
Max Matthies goal that proved to be the difference in a 1-0 win. Then after being held scoreless by Luther for 87 minutes,
Brenden Zuerlein broke through to tie the match at one and send it to overtime, where Nebraska Wesleyan would win on penalty kicks. Defensively,
Zachary Weis has made multiple clutch saves to help the team win, including three second half saves against Simpson, in a match that saw him record a clean sheet. Weis's best performance may have come against Luther, where he stopped a barrage of shots to keep Luther at bay, before coming up with a match sealing stop in round five of the shootout.
NEBRASKA WESLEYAN SOCCER HISTORY
The Prairie Wolves have claimed four conference championships and hold an all-time record of 297-233-47, highlighted by an undefeated 19-0 season in 1999. The last time the Prairie Wolves have been crowned conference tournament champions was in 2001.
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
Wartburg (10-4-4, 6-2 A-R-C) defeated Central College 1-0, in their last match. Through 18 matches, Wartburg has averaged two goals per match and allowed 0.94 goals per match. The Knights have taken 273 shots (123 on target) and tallied 30 assists. Wartburg is led by head coach Mike Madigan, in his eighth season.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST WARTBURG
Wednesday's match will mark the 15th meeting between Nebraska Wesleyan and Wartburg. Wartburg leads the all-time series 7-5-2. In their regular season match-up, Wartburg defeated NWU 3-0.
