Martin Luther wins double overtime thriller to advance in men's soccer tournament
NEW ULM, Minn.---With two new teams than a year ago in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men's soccer quarterfinal, the opening game of the 2016 men's tournament was sure to be an exciting start to the postseason. And the game didn't disappoint as it took 101:44 to decide a winner as Martin Luther College advanced past Crown College 3-2 in double overtime Monday afternoon.
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Box Score |
Tournament Site |
The Knights won a close 3-2 game between the two sides early in the season, and the quarterfinal follow up was just as intense from the get-go. After solid play between the two teams, Joseph Graumann finally broke through in the 101st minute to lift the Knights to a semifinal matchup with the No. 1 seed College of St. Scholastica Wednesday in Duluth, Minnesota.
The game started out close, but the Knights didn't take long to get going when leading scorer Graumann took a pass from Josh Koelpin to score his first of two and put his squad up 1-0 in the 18th minute of play.
It didn't take long for the Storm to respond, though, as rookie star Storm Heyer knotted the game at one a piece on an assist from Ger Jones in the 31st minute. Less than three minutes later, the Knights responded to regain the lead when Erich Osterman netted a goal on a set up from Jacob Shepard.
Down 2-1, Sam Eckman found the equalizer for the Storm scoring an unassisted tally in the 59th minute to even the sides yet again. The 2-2 score would stand through regulation forcing an overtime period between the two teams.
After 10 minutes of scoreless additional play, it took just 44 seconds for Graumann to find the back of the net with a header off a pass from Ethan Schultz to lock up the victory for the Knights.
The Knights saw Graumann lead the day with two goals, while goalie Caleb King made three saves to keep his Knights alive. The Storm were led in goal by Eli Etzel with five saves.
Monday's quarterfinal sets the stage for two exciting semifinals Wednesday. The Knights will travel to face the champion Saints at 11 a.m., while No. 2 University of Wisconsin-Superio will host No. 3 University of Northwestern at 1 p.m. in Superior, Wisconsin.
All tournament information including scores, recaps, team information and more can be found on the
UMAC Men’s Soccer Tournament page. Keep up with all of the tournament action on
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Playoff Schedule
Quarterfinal Round – Monday, Oct. 31
No. 4 Martin Luther def. No. 5 Crown |
Box Score |
MLC Recap | CC Recap |
Semifinal Round – Wednesday, Nov. 2
No. 4 Martin Luther AT No. 1 St. Scholastica; Duluth, Minn., 11 a.m. |
Live Broadcast |
No. 3 Northwestern AT No. 2 Wisconsin-Superior; Superior, Wis., 1 p.m. |
Live Video |
Live Stats |
Championship – Saturday, Nov. 5
Lowest remaining seed at highest remaining seed; Location and time, TBD
2015-2016 Tournament Page