No. 1 Yellowjackets, No. 2 Saints win big to advance to UMAC men's soccer title game
SUPERIOR, Wis.---The top seeds in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men's soccer tournament were at the top of their game in the Wednesday semifinals as No. 1 University of Wisconsin-Superior and No. 2 College of St. Scholastica cruised into the tournament championship with big wins.
The top-seeded No. 1 Yellowjackets defeated No. 5 Martin Luther College 6-0 in the later of the two games while the No. 2 Saints took a 3-0 win over No. 3 Bethany Lutheran College. The wins set up a championship match between the Saints and Yellowjackets for the fifth-straight season.
SEMIFINAL 1: No. 1 Wisconsin-Superior def. No. 5 Martin Luther, 6-0 | Box Score |
Earlier this season No. 5 Martin Luther forced overtime with No. 1 Wisconsin-Superior and hoped for another opportunity for a close contest with the champion. However, the conference's top offense got rolling early as the Yellowjackets scored five first-half goals to end the Knights' tournament run.
Blake Perry scored the first of two goals in the fourth minute to get the Yellowjackets on the board first. It wasn't until the 25th minute when the Yellowjackets took a 2-0 lead on a goal from Pontus Tavemark. That set off a flurry of goals with the next three goals coming in a three-minute time span with scores from Eric Watson, Blake Doyea and Perry. The final goal came courtesy of Blake Hanson in the 84th minute.
Perry tallied an eight-point performance on the night recording two goals and two assists to lead the 'Jacket attack. The Yellowjacket goalkeeping duo of Ulrik Lager and Dalton VonKaenel paired up for a combined shutout despite facing no shots on goal. Jon Pederson tallied the only shot for the Knights, while Josh Higgins made 10 saves in the loss.
The Knights finish their season 6-13-2 following a quarterfinal win Monday to advance to the UMAC semifinal round for the second-consecutive season.
SEMIFINAL 2: No. 2 St. Scholastica def. No. 3 Bethany Lutheran, 3-0 | Box Score |
Just 10 days ago No. 2 St. Scholastica and No. 3 Bethany Lutheran met in the regular season and played to a tie which would set up an exciting rematch Wednesday. However, the Saints came out flying on their home field in the semifinal scoring twice in the first 12 minutes to earn a 3-0 win.
Nolan Friday scored in the fifth minute on a set up from Malcolm Lumsden to get the Saints up 1-0. Then Friday returned the favor setting up Lumsden for the second goal of the game in the 12th minute. The Saints took the 2-0 lead into the half before getting the insurance third goal from Ken Pryde in the 62nd minute on an assist from Friday.
Friday led the Saints offensively with a four-point performance with a goal and two assists. Lumsden led the offensive attack with four shots on goal. Corey Bulheller earned the shutout win making two saves. Samuel Duran tallied three shots to lead the Vikings offensively with Moritz Bruns making five saves in the loss.
The Vikings made their first UMAC postseason appearance since 2015 and finish the season with a 12-6-1 overall record.
For the fifth-straight year, the Saints and Yellowjackets will face off for the playoff title. The Saints won the first two matchups with the Yellowjackets taking the last two. Two of the previous four meetings between the teams in the championship were decided with penalty kicks.
No. 1 Wisconsin-Superior and No. 2 St. Scholastica will meet in the postseason championship game with the top-seeded 'Jackets hosting the Saints Saturday at 1 p.m. in Superior. The winner of the tournament playoff championship will earn the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Championship.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Quarterfinal Round – Monday, Nov. 4
No. 5 Martin Luther def. No. 4 Northland, 3-1 |
Box Score |
MLC Recap | NC Recap |
Semifinal Round – Wednesday, Nov. 6
No. 1 Wisconsin-Superior def. No. 5 Martin Luther, 6-0 |
Box Score |
MLC Recap |
UWS Recap |
No. 2 St. Scholastica def. No. 3 Bethany Lutheran, 3-0 |
Box Score |
BLC Recap |
CSS Recap |
Championship – Saturday, Nov. 9
No. 2 St. Scholastica at No. 1 Wisconsin-Superior; Superior, Wis., 1 p.m. |
Live Stats |
Live Video |
TICKET INFORMATION
- Adults, $10
- College students and seniors, $5
- Youth (Age 6-18), $5; age 5 and under, FREE
- Any UMAC students, faculty and staff are free with a valid and current institutional ID. No other passes will be accepted.
Tournament Championship Page