CSS Men's Soccer Defeats UWS to Claim UMAC Tournament Title
Jesse Robinson
Notables
-Saints clinch fourth straight UMAC Tournament title
-CSS' Morgan named UMAC Tournament MVP
-The first time both programs faced each other in the postseason
-12 total cards issued in the contest
-CSS out-shot UWS 21-9
DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica men's soccer team took advantage of an early red card on Bridge Rival University of Wisconsin-Superior and proceeded to score five goals in a 5-0 victory Saturday at Ordean Stadium to capture the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament championship.
The Saints controlled possession for the first 20 minutes, but the Yellowjackets would have the best scoring chances. UWS' Adrian Leal got behind the defense in the 21
st minute, but CSS goalkeeper Sandy Davidson-Hunt got came out and made a great save to keep the contest scoreless.
Two minutes later, the Saints served a free kick into the UWS box that was misplayed and appeared to be headed in for a goal, but Superior's Mualigbe Keita intentionally knocked the ball out with his hands, which is an automatic red card and a penalty kick for the Saints. Senior Tom Corcoran lined up the PK and buried it to give St. Scholastica a 1-0 lead in the 23
rd minute. UWS would have to play a man down the rest of the way.
In the 26
th minute, Sean Morgan found Jonny Harkin and he would beat his defender and then the keeper to give the Saints a 2-0 lead. One minute and 13 seconds later, Harkin and Morgan had a nice combination of passes with Morgan finishing this time to give the Saints a 3-0 lead at halftime.
CSS added to its lead in 61
st minute when Harkin re-directed a Corcoran shot that snuck past the goalkeeper and the goal line to make it 4-0. Luke Buckton also had an assist on the goal. The final goal of the game came in the 70
th minute when Morgan buried home his second goal of the afternoon to make the final score 5-0. Charlie Crane was credited with the assist.
Davidson-Hunt earned the victory for the Saints, making four saves. Senior Chris Rothstein played the final 17 minutes and had a stop for the Saints. Ben Wilhelm had the loss for Superior. Ben Nelson played the final 54 minutes and had seven saves for UWS.
The Saints (18-2-1) will take the conference's automatic qualifier into next week's NCAA Division III Tournament. CSS will make its fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and fifth overall. The Saints will find out when and where they will be playing on Monday at 12:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.