The men’s soccer rebounded from last week’s disappointing loss to Augsburg with a resounding win over MIAC foe Hamline University. The Cougars shut out the Pipers 1-0 on Brent Diggs’ goal with just over three minutes left in the first half.
On paper, the narrow margin of victory obscured a dominating performance by the Cougars. UMM controlled the tempo all game, especially on the backline where Dana Veth, Justin O’Connor and Greg Borchers held the Pipers to just five shots for the contest, three of which were turned away by goalkeeper Tyler Simpson who recorded the shutout in his first start of the season.
The teams battled back and forth in the first half until the 33 minute mark when the Cougars stepped up the offensive pressure with several shots on goal. At the 3:22 mark, forward Brent Diggs collided with a Hamline player in midair going for a ball. The defender fell to the ground and Diggs emerged with only the goalkeeper in front of him. “I was trying to decide if I would chip the goalie, at first,” he said after the game. “I was about 30 yards so I decided to take a couple more touches.” The Hamline goalkeeper charged and Diggs calmed slipped it past into the left corner of the net.
After the break, Hamline was unable to threaten against the Cougar defense until late in the second half. At the 20 minute mark, Hamline’s Matt Warhol lifted a pass into a crowd of players standing just outside the goalie box. Simpson charged into the mass and punched it safely away. Eight minutes later, Hamline had its best look all game when D.J. Weil charged toward the goal from the right wing. Simpson ran out to meet the charging player and snuffed out the ball before Weil could fire.
Simpson said his shutout was owed in part to the solid play of the defense. “We maintained the shape we were trying to work on by pinching on the outsides,” he said.
The Cougars move to 1-1 this season and face St. John’s tomorrow (Sunday, September 6) in Collegeville. The Johnnies is the first of four road games for the Cougars who play their next game on September 25 when they host UMAC rival Northwestern College.
The men’s soccer rebounded from last week’s disappointing loss to Augsburg with a resounding win over MIAC foe Hamline University. The Cougars shut out the Pipers 1-0 on Brent Diggs’ goal with just over three minutes left in the first half.