ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern Men's Soccer team's offense came alive on Wednesday night at Reynolds Field. Three different Eagles found the back of the net as UNW picked up its first win of the season, taking down Martin Luther College, 4-1.
In a game that saw Northwestern outshoot the Knights 36-5 and 21-2 on goal,
Greg Wheaton's squad found their groove in a dominant effort.
Joey McMillin (Hugo, Minn./Centennial), who scored UNW's lone goal in Saturday's draw at North Central, picked up right where he left off. In the 17
th minute, McMillin slipped behind the MLC defense and
Simeon Friesen (Mounds View, Minn./Mounds View) delivered a perfect through ball to him, resulting in the game's first goal.
Martin Luther responded with a goal of their own to draw even in the 34
th minute, but that would be the last time the game would be tied for the remainder of the evening. Just four minutes later, McMillin delivered a beautiful cross into the box, where
Tim DeLoye (Wausau, Wisc./Wausau West) was awaiting to head it into the net off a bounce. After an MLC penalty in the 18-yard box in the 48
th minute, Friesen rifled the ensuing penalty kick into the left side of the net. It was the freshman's third goal of his young career.
Northwestern's fourth and final goal would come in the 76
th minute, when Friesen sent a high-arcing ball across the entirety of the box, where DeLoye was once again unmarked and able to knock it in with the outside of his foot. The multi-goal effort from DeLoye was the first of his career.
Despite his position as a defender, DeLoye led the charge, statistically, for UNW with eight shots and six shots on goal. Friesen followed with seven and four, respectively, while
Curtis Tinjum (Wausau, Wisc./Wausau West) added four shots and two on goal. McMillin finished with three shots, all on goal, and
Garrett Miers (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) contributed two shots on goal himself.
Gonzalo Luna Belmonte (Riverbank, Calif./Riverbank),
Aaron Hill (New Brighton, Minn./Mounds View),
Luis Villalobos (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) and
David DeLoye (Wausau, Wisc./Wausau West) each added one shot on goal.
The Eagles will continue their three game homestand Saturday at Reynolds Field, welcoming the University of Minnesota-Morris Cougars. Kickoff is set for 2:00 PM with the women's game to follow.
