Men's Soccer completes weekend sweep with 3-2 win over Martin Luther

ST. PAUL (Oct. 4, 2008) – The Northwestern College men's soccer game won their second game in a row on Saturday, defeating Martin Luther College 3-2 at Reynolds Field. All of the Eagles' conference wins have come on back-to-back occasions, as NWC beat St. Scholastica and Northland in the opening weekend of league play.

Martin Luther struck first, as Zac Pudlo scored off a corner kick from teammate Peter Walther in the 29th minute. Northwestern started to put pressure on as the end of the first half neared, as Jonathan Blatchley (Ham Lake, MN/St. Francis High School) (Ham Lake, Minn./St. Francis) and Phil Lodien (Kalispell, Mont./Stillwater Christian) forced Martin Luther to give up an own goal, sending both teams into the locker room with a 1-1 halftime score.

Blatchley, who was the hero in the Eagles' 1-0 win over Bethany Lutheran on Friday, gave his team something to cheer about again on Saturday, heading in a throw-in pass from Chris Applegate (Andover, MN/Meadow Creek High School) (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek). Blatchley's goal at the 60:14 mark made the score 2-1 in Northwestern's favor.

Alex Reyes (Guatemala City/Christian Academy) (Guatemala City, Guatemala/Christian Academy) added what proved to be the game-winner for Northwestern in the 79th minute, as the junior weaved his way through Martin Luther's defense before faking out the goalkeeper for a successful open net opportunity.

Philip Kurbis put the Knights within a goal of Northwestern five minutes later, as he took advantage of a one-on-one opportunity. The Eagles defense held on though, preserving a 3-2 lead until the final whistle.

Northwestern out-shot Martin Luther 8-6, while the corner kicks margin was even at six apiece.

Danny King (Willmar, MN/Willmar High School) (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) worked 85 minutes in the net to earn his fifth win of the year, saving one shot in the process.

Northwestern improves to 5-6-0 (4-2-0 UMAC) with the win, while Martin Luther slides to 4-3-1 (2-3-1). The Eagles will take a week off before hitting the road on Friday, Oct. 3, when they travel to Aberdeen, S.D. to face Presentation College. That game is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.

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