SUPERIOR, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets won the 2023 UMAC Men’s Soccer Regular Season Championship with a 2-1 victory over Northland College on Tuesday night.
The win over the Lumberjacks gave the Yellowjackets 36 points in the standings with a 12-1 conference record. With an eight-point lead over Bethany Lutheran College in the conference standings and just two games remaining for the Vikings, the Yellowjackets clinched the regular season championship.
The title is the sixth in a row for Wisconsin-Superior. The Yellowjackets won their program’s first regular season championship back in 2018 and have proceeded to win it every season since; earning five outright titles and one shared title in 2021 with Bethany Lutheran.
On Tuesday night, the Yellowjackets struck first as Nicolai Stokker launched a pass into the box that Mackie Ringrose headed into the goal past the diving Lumberjack keeper. The goal was Ringrose’s fourth of the season and gave UWS a 1-0 lead 22 minutes into the game.
The Lumberjackets struck back in the second half as Harrison Tibbetts scored his UMAC-leading 17
th goal of the season for Northland to tie the game up at 1-1 in the 58
th minute.
The deciding moment of the game occurred in the 67
th minute as Wisconsin-Superior received a corner-kick opportunity. Felipe Oliveira took the corner and launched it high into the goalie box. The pass sailed toward the mass of Yellowjackets and Lumberjacks, where reigning UMAC Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week Phillip Ericksen high-pointed it with a header to send it into the back of the net, scoring his sixth goal of the season and putting Wisconsin-Superior up 2-1.
Ericksen’s goal would end up being the game-winner as the Yellowjacket defense repelled any offensive chances the Lumberjacks put together the rest of the way. As the clock hit zeros, the celebration started in Superior for the Yellowjackets and their fans.
With the championship victory, Wisconsin-Superior has clinched the No. 1 seed in the UMAC Men’s Soccer Tournament. The Yellowjackets will host the to-be-determined No. 4 seed in the semifinal round on Wednesday, November 1.
For more information about the upcoming postseason championship, check out the tournament page linked below.