ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern Men's Soccer team held its annual Senior Night on Tuesday at Reynolds Field, where it honored senior forward
Jonathan-Thomas Olsen (Modesto, Calif./James Enochs High). Olsen has missed a majority of this season due to injury, but received a proper send-off prior to UNW's final home game of the regular season. On the pitch, the Eagles would come up short by a 3-0 margin to Bethany Lutheran College.
The first 54 minutes were a defensive struggle, as Northwestern's back line of
Tim DeLoye (Wausau, Wisc./Wausau West),
Troy Johnson (Killeen, Texas/Killeen),
Nathan Martinez (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) and
Colin Schellenberg (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park) held firm. The Vikings were finally able to end the stalemate in the 55
th minute and quickly added a second goal in the 56
th. Northwestern cut the lead in half in the 79
th minute when
Aaron Hill (New Brighton, Minn./Mounds View) found the back of the net, but the officials waved it off, calling the Eagles offside. Bethany Lutheran seized the momentum right back and scored in the 81
st minute to close things out when they knocked in a rebound after an incredible save by freshman goalkeeper
Kyle Dipzinski (Ionia, Mich./Ionia)..
Offensively,
Garrett Miers (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) led the way for UNW with three shots and one shot on goal. Freshman Gonzalo Lune Belmonte followed suit with two shots and one on goal, while DeLoye and
Curtis Tinjum (Wausau, Wisc./Wausau West) each added a shot on goal. Hill and
Luis Villalobos (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) each contributed a shot in the contest as well. On the back end, Dipzinski made five saves.
As thing currently stand, Northwestern sits in fifth place in the UMAC standings, trailing Crown College by three points for the final spot in the UMAC Playoffs. The Eagles will try and get back on track in their playoff pursuit Saturday at Minnesota Morris, who they defeated at home earlier in the season. The match is scheduled to begin at 3:30 at Cougar Field.
