Box Score

ST. PAUL – The University of Northwestern men's soccer team capitalized on a key couple minutes of action to earn a victory over North Central University by a 2-0 margin Friday afternoon. The Eagles scored once in the 21st minute, and again in the 22nd to secure their third-straight Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) victory.




Northwestern went on the offense early, posting five shots before Joshua Fryc (Harris, Minn./Homeschool) landed his fifth goal of the season to put the Eagles on the board at the 21:06 mark. Fast forward 39 seconds and Joshua Wolderich (Ferndale, Wash./Hillcrest Academy) forced another ball at the visitors and was followed up just 31 seconds later with another UNW goal, courtesy of an own-goal situation. The ball deflected off a North Central defender doubled the home team's lead security and set the score that would remain throughout the contest.

In the first 45 minutes of play the Eagles tallied 10 shots while the visitors on the scoreboard posted three.
 
The second period was launched with a few offensive exchanges between the two teams, but stops by the defenders proved to keep the score the same. The Purple and Gold continued to hold the upper hand in offensive opportunities as the team would go on to push nine shots in the final half.

As the final minutes ticked off the clock the Rams' backline fended off continued pressure, but was unable to convert those stops into scoring opportunities and the squads left Reynolds Field with the 2-0 final score set in the first half.

UMAC Defensive Player of the Week Shane Coleman (Wyoming, Minn./Homeschool) notched two saves in the shutout victory as the Eagle goalkeeper.

Northwestern (5-8 overall, 5-2 conference) will face a very familiar opponent on Saturday as North Central and UNW will face off yet again, with hosting roles reversed. A 2:15 p.m. game time is set for the contest, which will take place at the Coon Rapids (Minn.) Soccer Complex.