ST. PAUL, Minn.- The UNW Men's Soccer team knew they would have a challenge on Wednesday night when they hosted the conference leading Bethany Lutheran Vikings. The Vikings entered play at the top of the UMAC having only lost one conference game throughout the regular season. The Eagles battled hard, but fell 4-1 at Reynolds Field.

The first half was very evenly matched. Goals were hard to come by and the defenses on each side shone brightly early on. Austin Gunkel (Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View) made three saves in the first half for UNW as the teams entered the halftime break in a scoreless tie.

In the first half, shots were evenly matched with Bethany taking the slight lead in the category 7-5.

In the second half, the Vikings' offense was able to capitalize on some opportunities. The visitors scored in the 62^nd, 67^th, 73^rd, and 78^th minutes to take a 4-0 lead.

However, as we've seen all season long, the Eagles showed a lot of resiliency and got a goal late in the game. An Eagles' offensive attack drew a penalty in the box and were rewarded with a goal kick. The freshman Alejandro Alfaro (Murrieta, Calif./Vista Murrieta) came up to take the kick for the Eagles. Despite the opposing goalkeeper guessing the right direction, Alfaro put enough heat on the kick that it still found the back of the net. It was Alfaro's fourth goal of the season.

The Eagles are 6-6-1 in UMAC play and are in an intense battle for the third and fourth positions in the UMAC standings with Northland and Minnesota-Morris. The top four teams in the standings will make the UMAC Tournament that will take place next week. The Eagles will close out their regular season with a game on Saturday, October 30^th against Martin Luther at Reynolds Field. The game marks Senior Day for the Eagles where Head Coach Greg Wheaton and his coaching staff will honor the senior class for all they have done for Eagles soccer in their careers.