Top-seeded Saints, Yellowjackets advance to UMAC men's soccer championship game
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men's soccer championship game will look much like it did a year ago as No. 1 College of St. Scholastica and No. 2 University of Wisconsin-Superior both scored wins in semifinal play Wednesday afternoon.
The No. 1 Saints broke through late in the second half to take down No. 4 Martin Luther College 1-0, while No. 2 Wisconsin-Superior overcame an early deficit to knock off No. 3 University of Northwestern 5-1. The Saints will host the Yellowjackets Saturday at 1 p.m. with a trip to the NCAA tournament on the line.
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Tournament Site |
Semifinal 1 Recap |
Semifinal 2 Recap |
Men’s Soccer – No. 1 St. Scholastica def. No. 4 Martin Luther, 1-0, Duluth, Minn. |
Box Score |
Coming off an overtime thriller Monday, the No. 4 Knights faced a tough test in challenging the UMAC champion Saints on their home field Wednesday. Despite solid defense and impressive play from keeper Caleb King, the Saints found a way to score in the 74th minute to advance to the title game Saturday.
The Saints finally got the goal they needed when Armin Bobaric scored from the center of the box after a corner kick on a set up from Luke Buckton. The goal came after the Saints took 21 shots in the first half alone, before finishing the game with 44.
The Knights were kept in the game thanks to 15 saves from King who stopped several impressive runs by the Saints. The Saints were led offensively by Kyle Farrar and Luke Buckton who had four and three shots on goal, respectively.
Men’s Soccer – No. 2 Wisconsin-Superior def. No. 3 Northwestern, 5-1, Superior, Wis. |
Box Score |
Less than two weeks ago, the Yellowjackets and Eagles needed overtime to decide a winner with Wisconsin-Superior emerging victorious. Wednesday, it appeared the Eagles may find revenge as they found the lead early. They couldn't hold on, though, playing down one player for over half the game.
Eric Fast found the back of the net for the Eagles in the 44th minute to give his team a 1-0 lead into the half. The Yellowjackets' high-powered offense couldn't be stopped in the final 45 minutes, though, as they came with five unanswered goals to propel themselves into the championship game for a rematch with the Saints.
Daniel Kerns scored just over seven minutes into the second half to tie the game at 1-1 on a set up from Gio Rodriguez who then netted the game winner in the 61st minute. John Bucklew, Eric Watson and Joao Moreira each added goals en route to the Yellowjacket win. Turner Main turned away 11 shots in goal for the Eagles.
Following two exciting semifinal victories, No. 2 Wisconsin-Superior and No. 1 St. Scholastica will meet in the UMAC championship game Saturday at 1 p.m. in Duluth.
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, 3-2 2OT |
Box Score |
MLC Recap |
CC Recap |
Semifinal Round – Wednesday, Nov. 2
No. 1 St. Scholastica def. No. 4 Martin Luther, 1-0 |
Box Score |
CSS Recap |
MLC Recap |
No. 2 Wisconsin-Superior def. No. 3 Northwestern, 5-1 |
Box Score |
UNW Recap |
UWS Recap |
Championship – Saturday, Nov. 5
No. 2 Wisconsin-Superior at No. 1 St. Scholastica, Duluth, Minn., 1 p.m. |
Live Broadcast |