Lake Forest College

In a game that saw 26 combined fouls between the two sides, Lake Forest and Dubuque battled to a scoreless draw.

The Spartans pushed early, winning the physical battle out of the gate. As challenges flew in from both sides, Lake Forest found the first shot on goal through Gustavo Machado in the 13th minute. Six minutes later, Machado hit the crossbar on a shot, and the rebound worked out of the danger area for the Spartans. Dubuque also picked up a yellow card early in the half for a dangerous tackle on a promising Lake Forest attack.

Jonas Antolik, making his first start of the season, found opportunities to hold up play but the Foresters struggled to find a good look in the final third. Lake Forest ended the first half leading in shots, 10-1. However, only one of those shots for the Foresters was on target as the two sides went into the break scoreless. 

The second half saw a flip in play as Dubuque picked up the tempo on offense, forcing two saves from Conor Leuschke in the first 15 minutes of the half. After two more yellow cards for the Spartans, Vico Pozuelos had the best chance of the game for the Foresters. A ball in from the left wing found the sophomore, but the Spartan goalkeeper saved the shot in a scramble in front of the net. As Lake Forest pushed hard in the final 10 minutes, Dubuque saw out the game on defense to keep the score knotted at zero.

The game marked the fourth clean sheet of the season for the Lake Forest defensive unit. The last scoreless draw for the Foresters was in October 2023 against Cornell, a game that featured five Forester seniors in their first year of collegiate soccer.  

Next up for the Foresters is the first Midwest Conference home game of the season, as Lake Forest hosts Illinois College on September 30. Kickoff at Mohr Field is set for 4 p.m.