By Jim Naprstek, Assistant Sports Information Director
 

#4 Loras, 2
Central, 1

It wasn't an easy task, but the Duhawks punched their way into the NCAA Division III Tournament with a 2-1 victory over the Central College Dutch Saturday night in the Rock Bowl. After defeating Central 2-0 in the regular season, Loras had confidence that they would be able to command the momentum and presence again. The Dutch however, came out with everything they had, as they knew that their only shot at playing in the NCAA Tournament was through the automatic qualifier bid that they would receive from winning the conference tournament.

Tim van den Bergh put the Duhawks out in front in the 12^th minute off of a shot from 20 yards that was deflected by the Central defender and past Travis Yets. Loras would hold that lead for 31 minutes before allowing their first goal against an Iowa Conference foe off of a free kick by Aleksander Glavas.

The two teams would duke it out for the next 23 minutes before Loras' offensive pressure in the penalty area finally paid off when Tom Fluegel slid home a pretty pass from Ryan Schneider. 

Giving credit where credit is due, Central left everything on the pitch tonight. The amount of heart that they showed was exemplary, but their efforts would fall short.

"We basically saw pure intensity, pure heart. They put everything on the line, and it showed," Louie Oswald said.

For the Duhawks, they now wait for the NCAA Selection Show on Monday afternoon (noon) on NCAA.com to hear where they will play next week and who they will play against. From here on out, they'll be treating each game with the utmost importance, because simply put, it could be their last of 2012.