ASHLAND, Wis. – Entering the final week of the regular season, the University of Northwestern Men's Soccer team was still mathematically alive in regards to making the UMAC Tournament, but the Eagles needed a lot of things to go their way. Go their way, they did.
Trailing Crown College by five points for the final of four playoff spots, Northwestern needed to win both of its remaining games (at Martin Luther and at Northland) to even have a chance, since Crown owned the head-to-head tiebreaker over UNW. But even two wins wouldn't get it done if Crown didn't lose both of its remaining games. Luckily for the Eagles, the Polars had the top two UMAC teams on its schedule for the final week. Wednesday, Northwestern took care of business with a 3-1 win at Martin Luther, then watched Bethany Lutheran beat Crown on a miraculous free kick late in the match. The stage was set for a Saturday filled with drama.
The Eagles took the field in Ashland with some swagger and confidence, having defeated Northland 3-0 at home in the first meeting between the two programs this season. The Eagles' aggressive approach paid dividends in the 17
th minute when
Garrett Miers (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) set up a streaking
Aaron Hill (New Brighton, Minn./Mounds View), who tapped in his third goal of the week.
Knowing one goal may not be enough, Northwestern would keep its foot on the gas. In the 23
rd minute,
Luis Villalobos (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) passed it up ahead to Miers, who fought off two defenders in the 18-yard box and scored. Miers wasn't done, though. Just one minute later,
Joey McMillin (Hugo, Minn./Centennial) sent a deep cross into the box, where
Simeon Friesen (Mounds View, Minn./Homeschool) tapped it on the fly to Miers. Miers knocked it in to give UNW a 3-0 lead that would remain for the rest of the match.
The Eagles dictated the game the entire way, out-shooting the Lumberjacks 17-4 and 10-4 on goal. Hill led the way with five of those shots and three of the shots on goal. Miers had an efficient day, as his two goals were his only two shots of the game and he also had the assist on Hill's goal. McMillin shot four times, once on goal, while
Curtis Tinjum (Wausau, Wisc./Wausau West) finished with three shots and one on goal. Villalobos, Friesen and
Tim DeLoye (Wausau, Wisc./Wausau West) all logged one shot on goal.
Kyle Dipzinski (Ionia, Mich./Ionia) anchored the defense, saving all four of the Northland shots on goal.
In St. Bonifacius, Wisconsin-Superior broke a 1-1 halftime tie open in the second half, defeating Crown by a 4-1 score. This was the final domino that needed to fall for Northwestern to qualify for the UMAC Men's Soccer Tournament. As the number four seed, the Eagles will travel to top-seeded Wisconsin-Superior on Wednesday for their semifinal matchup. Stay tuned to unweagles.com for an updated start time and more information.
