Box Score

COON RAPIDS, Minn. – For the second consecutive day, the University of Northwestern bested North Central University by a 2-0 margin Saturday afternoon. The pair of second-half goals allowed the Eagles' to extend their Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) win streak to four games as the squad has now entered the second-half of league action.

The Northwestern offense came out of the gates rolling, but a scrappy Ram defensive effort kept the score at 0-0 for the first half. Among the seven attacks the Eagles posted in the first 45 minutes, NCU goalkeeper Nathan Kraines picked up five saves as part of the home team's back line.

The second period featured more of Northwestern tempo-setting with two early shots getting on board for UNW. The 58^th minute proved to be the game-changer for both squads, however, as Eric Fast (Eagan, Minn./Homeschool) converted on a penalty kick to give his squad the one-up advantage over its opponent.

The Purple and Gold continued its trend of forcing attacks towards the Rams' end of the field, but each force was stopped by the defenders. With just 2:46 left on the clock, Mark Habeck (Winona, Minn./Winona) made it two penalty kick goals for the Eagles with his successful boot, providing the visitors a 2-0 lead with minutes to play.


UNW was able to hold strong in the final minutes and secured the 2-0 outcome as the final whistle blew. Shane Coleman (Wyoming, Minn./Homeschool) notched his second shutout victory in as many days in the game that featured more offense than defense from the Eagles. The visiting team owned the shot total by a margin of 16-3 and corner kicks with 11 on the afternoon.

With the win, Northwestern (6-8 overall, 6-2 UMAC) began its second round of league play on a high note and will have the week off from contests until Friday, October 18 when the team will host the College of St. Scholastica. The 3:15 p.m. game will be held at Reynolds Field as the second half of the Eagle soccer doubleheader.