After a 1-3 start, the St. Ambrose men's soccer team has picked up its play of late, knocking off back-to-back ranked opponents. The Fighting Bees defeated #11 Notre Dame College (Ohio) 1-0 on Friday before slipping past #6 Loras College, an NCAA Division III school, 2-1 on Tuesday.

SAU goalkeeper Justin DeSousa, the MCC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week, has lowered his goals against average to 1.17 after the two strong showings. Greg Lehman, the team's leading scorer with five goals and 10 points, scored in both matches.

Against Notre Dame at a tournament hosted by Judson, Lehman scored the only goal of the game in the 76th minute. The senior forward took a pass from Jim Lyons and headed the ball into the left side of the net for the 1-0 lead. DeSousa made the one-goal lead hold up. The senior goalkeeper made five saves in earning the shutout.

Just four days later, SAU earned its second straight one-goal win over a ranked team. This time the Bees snapped Loras College's 31-game unbeaten streak. Wet conditions in Muscatine forced the originally scheduled home game to be moved to Dubuque, but the trip didn't bother St. Ambrose.

Trailing 1-0, SAU knotted the match at 1-1 on Lehman's goal late in the first half. Kendrick Tyson got the assist. In the 63rd minute, St. Ambrose grabbed the lead. Taylor Marvin's unassisted goal pushed the Bees in front 2-1, and DeSousa made another one-goal lead hold up, making four saves in evening the team's record at 3-3.

Loras reached the NCAA Division III Final Four and finished with a 23-0-2 record last year.

St. Ambrose will look to continue its hot play as MCC play opens. The Bees will visit Viterbo at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20.