Dubuque Thunder: Thunder News
Thursday, May 26Thunder Finishes IPSL Season With Winning Streak
League Season Ends With Three Wins In a Row
It was a rough start, but a rewarding finish to the Dubuque Thunder's second full season in the Iowa Premier Soccer League. As the lone U11 team playing against the premiere U12 squads in the state, the Thunder opened the season with three losses before capturing its first win.
Then, following its first league victory, the Thunder won another five games in the April Chill-Out Tournment.
Returning to IPSL action, the Thunder lost the next three games. However, the team rebounded to close the league season with three consecutive wins while ouscoring opponents by a 11-5 margin.
The Dubuque Thunder finished the season with a 4-6 record and finished fourth in the eight-team league.
Finishing the season with the Thunder were Nick Berger, Shane Broderick, Sam Burds, Dylan Doerges, Kody Fitzjerrells, Ryan Hermsen, Jack Hoy, Sam Koenig, Nick Nemmers, Nathan Sims, Alex Smith, Brent Wilker, and Ben Yoko.
Tuesday, April 12
Thunder Wins Cedar Rapids Chill-Out
Team Shuts Out Last Four Opponents
After claiming the opening game of the tournament with a 4-1 victory, the Dubuque Thunder rolled through the next three games.
With a combination of a strong defense, stellar goalkeeping by Nick Berger, Sam Koenig, and Alex Smith, and an opportunistic offense, the Dubuque Thunder blanked its next opponents 6-0, 6-0, and 4-0 to advance to the championship contest.
The deciding game against the CRSA squad took over 75 minutes to complete as two 30-minute halves and two intense overtime periods ended in a 0-0 deadlock. A 5-3 advantage in the penalty kick shootout gave the Thunder its 1-0 championship title.
Coaches Jason Berna, Rob Doerges, and Dan Wilker praised the 13-man team for their hard work and effort throughout the difficult start to the season. It certainly paid off.
Thunder Wins Iowa Premiere League - Undefeated!
After claiming four straight Illowa League Championships, the Dubuque Thunder was invited to participate in the Iowa Soccer Association's Iowa Premiere Soccer League during its first season of offering U11 competition.
The Thunder won the first eight league games before surrendering a tie in the finale and completed their inagural ISPL campaign with an 8-0-1 record and the only undefeated team in the league.
In addition, the Thunder placed third in the SuperClubs Regional Tournament held in Rockford, Illinois to qualify for the SuperClubs National Tournament in Florida. Performing for the squad are Nick Berger, Shane Broderick, Sam Burds, Dylan Doerges, Kody Fitzjerrells, Ryan Hermsen, Jack Hoy, Sam Koenig, Nick Nemmers, Nathan Sims, Alex Smith, Brent Wilker, and Ben Yoko.
The team continues to perform under the leadership of coaches Rob Doerges, Dan Wilker, and Greg Yoko.
Thunder Accepted Into IPSL
The Dubuque Thunder has been accepted to play in the inaugural U11-12 divisions of the Iowa Premiere Soccer League.
Ten teams comprise Division 2 of the U12 East League.
While the majority of games in the East will be hosted in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and Waterloo, there is a possibility that a game or two will be played in Dubuque.
More details and a Fall schedule are expected to be announced during the last week in July.
Wins U11 Title in Dubuque Blowout
In the final tournament of the 2003-2004 year, the Dubuque Thunder played up an age division and in field size, the squad captured first place in the Dubuque Soccer Club's own Blowout Tournament on July 9-11. This was accomplished despite having only 12-13 players available
The Thunder defeated North Scott, the Cedar Rapids Drillers, and the Dubuque Thunder before tying East Moline to claim the tourney title with 10 points. East Moline finished second with 8 points.
Undefeated in Illowa Again!
For the fourth consecutive season, the Dubuque Thunder completed the Illowa league campaign with a perfect 6-0 record.
The Spring 2004 season was more difficult than usual due to the absence of two players for most of the season. Dylan Doerges (broken leg) and Kody Fitzjerrells (surgery) missed four of the six games and played sparingly in the last two.
Fortunately, the rest of the squad kept the ship afloat. Virtually all 11 of the remaining Thunder players saw action in goal and every player scored at least once during the season.
2004 Spring/Summer Tournaments Selected
For a change, the Dubuque Thunder will stay in Iowa until June this Spring. The Thunder, which has yet to lose a Illowa league game or a tournament in three seasons, will open the 2004 campaign at the Cedar Rivers Pre-season Chill-out Soccer Tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa over the April 16-17 weekend. The U10 squad from Dubuque will once again play up to the U11 level for this tourney.
In May (May 15-16), the Thunder will travel to the Des Moines, Iowa area to take part in the Urbandale Spring Festival. The team will compete in the U11 competitive bracket.
Before heading to Illinois in June, the Dubuque Thunder will be competing in the six-game U10 Division of the Illowa League (www.Illowa.org) between April and June. Game date, time, opponent, and location will be announced when available.
In June, the Thunder will return to Peoria, Illinois for the Peoria Soccer Club's River City Classic (June 18-20). The squad will play U11 in this tourney as well, but will be an even bigger challenge as Illinois continues to offer 11-v-11 on a full-sized field for the U11 age division until August 1.
Spring 2004 Schedules Released
The 2004 Illowa Spring Schedule has been announced. For the first time in our six Illowa seasons (two as the Dynamite and four as the Thunder), we can enjoy four home games!
Go to Illowa website.
In addition, the tournament schedule for the Cedar River Soccer Association's Pre-season Kickoff Tournament has also been released. See here!