Box Score MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris cracked open the door to the top two spots in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) standings after beating Northwestern College 3-1 on Thursday afternoon.  The Eagles, who still stand in second place by a mere point over the Cougars in the league standings, couldn't overcome an early 2-0 Morris lead.

John Hastings and Toby Glaser were responsible for the Cougars' first half goals. Hastings' unassisted shot at the 16:23 mark came on a rebound from the cross bar, while Glaser's goal came after a Michael Ward cross from the right side in the 37th minute as the Eagles looked up at the home team's two goal advantage at halftime.

Northwestern's Edgar Renteria (Mexico City, Mexico/Brooklyn Center) (Mexico City, Mexico/Brooklyn Center) found the back of the net for the Eagles' lone goal in the game at the 62:35 point of the second half.  Ward then added an insurance goal for the Cougars in the 79th tick as he broke away up the middle and snuck a shot under NWC goalkeeper Eric Bocan (Anoka, Minn./Meadow Creek) (Anoka, Minn./Meadow Creek).

Despite losing the game, the Eagles held a 10-9 advantage in shots and a 4-2 upper hand in corner kicks.

NWC will now shift its attention to next Friday and Saturday, Oct. 28 and 29, when the Eagles wrap up the 2011 regular season at Northland College and the College of St. Scholastica.  At 7-2-1 in UMAC play (8-7-2 overall), Northwestern is assured one of the four spots in the conference tournament, but none of the four seeds have been wrapped up as of yet.