Beardmore: Former St. Charles North standout Figura breaks out with Loras men's soccer

Dan Figura didn’t get a chance to see a match at Rock Bowl Stadium when he was being recruited by Loras College, but the highlight tapes and game footage gave him a good idea of what to expect.

The former St. Charles North soccer standout couldn’t be happier with his team or the support he’s received since arriving in Dubuque, Iowa, in 2010.

Before committing to Loras on his birthday (March 8) of his senior year, Figura was contemplating other colleges to continue his soccer career. But along with the connection Figura made with Loras coach Dan Rothert and the rest of the Duhawks staff, he was drawn to playing his college soccer at Rock Bowl Stadium.

“Coach Rothert emphasized how much Loras’ students and faculty support the soccer team and have a good showing for the games,” Figura said. “Our crowd and fans are awesome – they take so much pride in the team. And it’s such a cool stadium.”

Nearly 4,500 fans showed up for 13 games at Rock Bowl Stadium this season, but that home-field edge wasn’t enough on Nov. 12. Loras’ season ended that night with a 4-0 loss to eventual national runner-up Calvin in the second round of the Division III championships. The Duhawks had gone 20 consecutive home games without a loss.

“I’m not going to say they were lucky – they are definitely good – but some of their goals were absolutely ridiculous,” Figura said. “It was incredibly unfortunate for us. Really, their size and speed were the main advantages.”

As a freshman, it didn’t take long for Figura to figure out that his days of facing undersized forwards were over. He needed to get bigger and stronger to mark players that were often 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds.

“After my freshman year and seeing what my competition was going to be like as a defender I knew I had to hit the weights,” Figura wrote in an e-mail. “I don’t think I touched the weightroom in high school. But last year as a freshman I was with the soccer team three, four times a week in the weightroom to become faster and stronger.”

Those efforts paid off in the fall as Figura started all 23 games and finished with four goals and an assist to help Loras win the Iowa Conference tournament championship and finish 17-3-3. It was a breakout season for the sophomore defender, who earned second-team All-Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors after playing just four games as a freshman when he started on the reserve team.

"I wasn't as happy or proud as I thought I'd be when I found out (about making the second team)," Figura said. "I was still thinking about how we should have made it farther. We had hopes of making the Final Four or the Elite Eight. With Loras, the focus is the team, not individual honors."
Still, Rothert can't say enough good things about Figuras's individual improvement.

“I couldn’t be any more pleased,” Rothert said. “We knew he was good when we were recruiting him, and we knew he had a lot of potential. He’s worked hard to make the most of that opportunity.”

Figura can't wait for his next chance this fall.

• Matt Beardmore writes a weekly On Campus column about area athletes competing in college. If you have a column idea, contact him at matt.beardmore@gmail.com.