MANKATO, Minn.- The University of Northwestern Women's Soccer team started conference play with a tough matchup on Wednesday night. The Eagles, who finished in second place in the regular season conference standings a year ago, went up against the Bethany Lutheran Vikings who finished in third place a year ago. Wednesday's conference opener was a rematch of last year's UMAC semifinal which the Eagles won by a single goal margin. Once again, these two teams played a tightly contested match, but this time it was the Vikings who won a one goal game, 4-3.
Anybody who has followed Northwestern Women's Soccer over the past couple of seasons should have expected nothing less than a one goal game between the Eagles and the Vikings. The UNW-BLC women's soccer matchup has turned into one of the most compelling matchups/rivalries across all UMAC athletics. Coming into tonight's game, four out of the last five matchups between these two teams have been decided by a one goal margin. The one game out of the last six that did not end in a one goal game, ended in a tie. It is nearly impossible to be more evenly matched than these two teams have been in recent seasons.
Early on in Wednesday night's contest, it did not appear as if this would be a one score game. Playing on their home field, the Vikings jumped all over the Eagles in the early stages of the match. Bethany Lutheran scored in the 11
th, 16
th, and 20
th minutes to stun UNW and take a 3-0 lead.
The Eagles may have been shell-shocked by the early Viking ambush for a moment, but they quickly snapped out of it and reigning UMAC Player of the Year
Haley Mersberger (Kiel, Wisc./Elkhart Lake Glenbeulah) led her team as they began to climb back into the game.
Mersberger had 24 goals in UMAC play as a freshman in 2022 on her way to being named the top player in the conference. In the Eagles' first UMAC game of 2023, she continued her frenetic goal scoring pace.
Mersberger scored in the 34
th and 44
th minutes to pull the Eagles within one just before the halftime whistle.
Meghan Corbett (Sartell, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral) assisted on the first Eagle goal and
Mya Chan (Brandon, S.D./Homeschool) got credit for the assist on the second goal.
Now within striking distance, the Eagles rode that momentum into halftime and onto the other side of the break. Only six minutes and two seconds into the second half, Mersberger completed the hat trick with her third goal and the Eagles had come all the way back to tie the game at 3-3.
Briella Babcock (Byron, Minn./Byron) picked up her first assist of the season with a beautiful ball in into the box to set up the goal.
Now it was the Vikings' turn to be stunned as they had seen their three goal cushion evaporate in a hurry. However, similar to the Eagles, the Vikings responded in a big way. Only 49 seconds after Mersberger had tied the game, the Vikings scored on a beautiful rainbow shot from a steep angle. The ball was placed in the perfect spot and there was nothing that any Eagle could do about it. In a remarkable turn of events, the Vikings had jumped back out in front 4-3.
The final 38 minutes of the match was entertaining to say the least. Now trailing by a goal, UNW turned up the pressure. The Eagles dominated the possession throughout the remainder of the game and continued to fire shot after shot on the BLC net. Unfortunately for Eagle fans, the Vikings kept coming up with answers to somehow keep the ball from finding the back of the net for an equalizer.
The Eagles' best chance to tie the game came when
Meghan Corbett (Sartell, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral) went on a brilliant run with the ball in the late stages of the game. The sophomore went streaking through the middle of the field, carving through the Bethany defense. She fired a beautifully located shot to the left corner of the goal and everybody watching thought the game was destined to be tied 4-4. However, it was not to be as the Vikings' goalkeeper somehow got a finger on the ball to preserve the 4-3 Vikings' victory.
After a thrilling start to the UMAC season, UNW Women's Soccer fans will be antsy to see the team in action again. The ladies will play their next game on Saturday, September 16
th when they host Crown College at Reynolds Field.
