Box Score

ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. – The University of Northwestern men's soccer team rode a 35-5 shot advantage to victory on Friday afternoon, starting off its final regular season weekend of action with a 4-0 win versus Crown College. The Eagles utilized a trio of first-half scores to take the upper hand, with three different UNW players picking up credit for goals in the contest.

Northwestern wasted no time attacking the home team's goal, as Mark Habeck (Winona, Minn./Winona) posted the first shot just 1:15 into the contest. The Eagles would continue to pressure the Storm's end of the pitch until the squad was successful soon following the halfway mark of the first period, as Joshua Wright (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) found success after Joshua Wolderich (Ferndale, Wash./Hillcrest Academy) delivered a golden pass to his teammate.

Just 1:12 later, Joshua Fryc (Harris, Minn./Homeschool) took advantage of an open net to land a successful shot, doubling UNW's lead to a pair. The third and final successful Northwestern boot of the half came at the 36:31 time stamp with Wright earning credit for another goal scored, once again started with a pass from Wolderich.

After a 3-0 lead at halftime, the visiting team on the scoreboard would continue to hold the reigns on offense, holding Crown to just one second-half shot. The Eagles continued to find success on offense in terms of momentum, but a strong Storm defense would withstand all further attacks until 1:37 was ticking off the clock. At that point, Bishop Anyiwe (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) found Dayne Shackle (Stillwater, Minn. /) who delivered on the header goal to secure the final 4-0 outcome.

While the contest featured highlights for UNW on offense, the Eagle backline earned the shutout victory as a result of its stoppage during 90 minutes of action.

Once again, Northwestern (10-9 overall, 10-3 conference) will be on the road for Saturday's  2:15 p.m. contest versus the University of Minnesota Morris. Although the Purple and Gold has clinched a spot in next week's Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Postseason Tournament, Saturday's game still has implications for seeding, as UNW could secure either the second or third seed depending on the outcome of the day's matchups.