After a hard-fought victory over St. Scholastica yesterday, the Cougar men’s soccer team cruised to an easy 5-0 win against Northland College this afternoon. The shutout was the team’s seventh straight all of the team’s eight wins have come by shutout.
The shutout streak and its significance is not lost on the team’s followers. Late in the match, the crowd drew a stiff breath when backliners Justin O’Connor and Greg Borchers collided and fell, leaving a Northland player alone and driving toward the goal. Fortunately, captain Patrick O’Connor was able to intercept the player just before he could get off a shot. That would be Northland’s best attack of the day.
The Cougars took an incredible 56 shots during the game, 24 of those on goal, compared to just eight for Northland (five on goal).
UMM opened the scoring in the 15th minute when senior Brent Diggs chipped in pass from Kelsey Duerr off a Mattson Towley corner kick. It was Diggs’ seventh goal of the year.
Fifteen minutes later, first year Kyle O’Connor fired a point blank shot at the goalkeeper. It bounced back to O’Connor’s feet and he knocked it in for his first goal of the season.
O’Connor, subbing in for midfielder Jeff Lind, made the most of his playing time. Two minutes later he fed an assist to Mattson Towley driving down the left side of the penalty box for an easy one-timer in the lower left corner of the net.
“[It’s] good to get the goal and assist to relieve the tension. There’s a nervousness every time I get out there, so it helps you relax,” O’Connor said after the game.
The Cougars maintained a 3-0 to halftime and well into the second half when Kelsey Duerr was chopped down inside the penalty box. Pat O’Connor put away the penalty kick for a 4-0 lead.
Duerr would get another chance to score ten minutes later when he punched in an unassisted goal in the 80th minute.
Northland’s offense was frustrated all game long as they struggled to get through UMM’s midfielders.
“We’re definitely doing well at working back on defense when the ball’s on the weak side. We get back and we mark our men. Then we’re getting up and getting on the far post on offense,” Lind said.
Next week the Cougars travel to the Cities for games against Northwestern College and Crown. The following week they return home for a pair of games against Martin Luther and Bethany Lutheran.
Minnesota, Morris 5