Minnesota, Morris 1
Northwestern 0
On sloppy, wet field under gray skies, the Cougar men’s soccer team scored early and then hung on to earn a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Northwestern College in Minneapolis.
It was the second time in two days that UMM had been tested by an opponent they had already handily defeated this season. They beat Northwestern 5-0 on September 25. Friday, in St. Bonifacius, they needed overtime to defeat Crown College (2-1), whom they had beaten 4-0 two weeks ago in Morris.
Head coach Christian DeVries gave all the credit to his opponents and their coaches. “[Northwestern and Crown] did everything they needed to do to beat us. They were well-coached and knew how to attack us.”
In Minneapolis yesterday, senior midfielder Kelsey Duerr scored in the seventh minute on an assist from captain Patrick O’Connor. It was Duerr’s conference-leading ninth goal of the season and O’Connor similarly conference-leading eighth assist.
Shots were difficult to come by as both team’s defenses frustrated opposing attacks. The Cougars managed just seven shots for the game, compared to Northwestern’s five. UMM’s Tyler Weber in goal earned the shutout, his fifth of the season.
DeVries was just happy to leave with a victory. “It’s always tough to play a team the second time around. Today wasn’t about scoring a bunch of goals. It was about winning the game,” he said.
It should be added here that the Cougars’ extraordinary run of shutouts in conference (broken by Crown College on Saturday) has earned them national rankings among Division III teams. At the end of last week, out of 377 teams, UMM was ranked seventh in shutout percentage and eighth in team goals against average.
The Cougars return home for a pair of games next weekend, hosting Martin Luther College on Friday, and Bethany Lutheran College on Saturday.
Box Score
