CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Dakota Wesleyan Men's Soccer kicked off its 2025 campaign on the road against the Mount Mercy Mustangs.
The Tigers and the Mustangs battled through the first half-hour of the contest, with both teams showcasing their defensive prowess. An early yellow card for Mount Mercy would put Dakota Wesleyan in a position to capitalize. Still, a handful of offside penalties would prevent the Tigers from stamping an immediate lead. The scoreless bout would see its first point of the game recorded by DWU following an attempted cross that bounced out of the goalie's hands and into the foot of Colin Burke, who would quickly tap it in to record the goal. In the 40th minute before the half, however, Mount Mercy would find their own response and head into the break tied at one-all.
The pace of the second half would closely resemble the first, with both defenses making it near-impossible for the opposition to find a scoring opportunity. The Tigers would find a few more creases in the Mustang defense, but opportunities were still scarce, as Evan Bolster would have a shot saved in the 53rd minute with Lukas Adamhuber sending a score attempt out of bounds just a minute later. AJ Bowman would also find a nice opening at 73', but a good eye by the Mount Mercy goalie would also prevent the Tigers from scoring their second goal of the match. Dakota Wesleyan would hold strong as the game began to hit its final stretch, but a Mount Mercy corner kick would set up Pablo Ortega Herreros for his second goal of the day in the 84th minute in what would be the game-sealing point for the Mustangs, and the Tigers would fall, 1-2.
DWU Soccer will be back in action against St. Ambrose in Iowa on Tuesday, August 26th, at 2:00 PM. See the full 2025 schedule here.
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