Minnesota, Morris 5
Northland 0
The Cougar men's soccer needed to accomplish two things in Ashland, Wisconsin today: get a shutout win and rest some players for tomorrow big match-up against St. Scholastica.
Thanks to a comprehensive effort, UMM was able to post a 5-0 win while providing some bench time in the second half to many of their starters.
"This was probably as close to a true team win as you can have," head coach Christian DeVries said after the game. "Our bench came in and played 25 good minutes. Everyone played and everyone played well."
Brent Diggs opened the scoring in the 10th minute when Toby Glaser blasted a shot from 30 yards away that caromed off the post and landed at Diggs' feet. The senior forward calmly put the ball away for a 1-0 lead. It was Diggs 12th goal of the season.
Ten minutes later Glaser got another chance to score, this time from 25 yards, and this time he hit the back of the net for his second goal of the season.
Just before halftime, sophomore midfielder Matt Johnson threaded a pass to first year Mahad Abdi who tallied his second goal of the season for a 3-0 lead.
In the second half, the Cougars notched two more scores, just 23 seconds apart. On the first, junior forward Mattson Towley one-timed a free ball from the 20 yards away on the right side for his 8th goal of the season. Then, moments after the subsequent reset, Towley assisted Abdi for his second goal of the day.
Once again the Cougar defense was sterling. Tyler Simpson in goal recorded the shutout while the backline limited the Lumberjacks to just two shots for the game.
The Cougars face their toughest test of the year tomorrow in Duluth when they face conference rival St. Scholastica. Last month, UMM defeated Scholastica 1-0 in Morris. This game has implications for home field advantage during the UMAC tournament.
Next weekend, the Cougars return home for a game against Presentation, rounding out the regular season.
Box Score
