ST. PAUL, Minn. – On a windy Wednesday afternoon, the UNW Men's Soccer Team took the field against conference opponent, Martin Luther. The Knights struck first, but the Eagles were not deterred and answered with three goals in both halves. Northwestern finished with an impressive winning score of 6-1.
It only took seven minutes for the Knights to open up the scoring. They found the net off a set piece at the top of the box. Four minutes later, the Eagles thought they responded with a goal scored by
Nathan Martinez (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee); however, the goal was recalled due to an offsides call. After another four minutes passed,
Jared Mojardin (Denver, Colo./Northeast Early College) also scored a goal, which was spoiled due to a whistle signaling offsides once again.
Northwestern relentlessly continued to pepper the goal with shots and finally found their answer in the 25
th minute.
Troy Johnson (Killeen, Texas/Killeen) crossed the ball in front of the goal and found the head of
Simeon Friesen (Mounds View, Minn./Homeschool), who powered his header to into the back of the net.
The Eagles found their groove after their first goal and didn't wait much longer to take the lead in the 31
st minute. From the top of the box, Friesen passed the ball over to Mojardin. After one controlling touch, Mojardin fired a shot past several defenders and the keeper.
Ten minutes later, Northwestern took the ball away off the goal kick, switched the field, and found Friesen on the far sideline. Friesen continued to create for the Eagles as he dribbled up the field and delivered a dime to
Julian Ortiz Menjivar (Oakdale, Minn./North St. Paul). Ortiz Menjivar cut through the box, jumped, and headed the ball into the goal to put the Eagles up 3-1 as they went into halftime. The Eagles out-shot the Knights in the first half 23-2.
Coming out of the half, Northwestern maintained their momentum. Starting in the 58
th minute, and the eight minutes following, UNW had scored three more times. The first goal of the quick trio came at the feet of
Aaron Hill (New Brighton, Minn./Mounds View). Hill lost his defender at the top of the box and fired a bullet into the net.
Joey McMillin (Hugo, Minn./Centennial) notched the next goal after he stole the ball near the top side of the penalty box. After taking a couple touches, he let a shot fly and buried it into the top corner of the net.
Gonzalo Luna Belmonte (Riverbank, Calif./Riverbank) recorded the final goal of the night after receiving a quick one-touch pass from
Aaron Hill (New Brighton, Minn./Mounds View). Luna Belmonte dribbled through space and snuck the ball past the keeper.
The Eagles dominated possession as they controlled the ball for 70% of the game. Northwestern finished with 40 total shots compared to the 3 allowed to Martin Luther. Mojardin led the Eagles with a goal, eight shots, and five shots on goal. Hill filled his stat sheet with one goal, one assist, four shots and three on target. Friesen also had a full night with one goal, two assists, and two shots. Luna Belmonte and Ortiz Menjivar both scored off their three shot attempts. McMillin also added a goal, which was his second goal in two games, off two shots. Martinez and Miers each added three shots, while Ford, DeLoye, and
Grant Janowiec (Andover, Minn./Andover) each took two shots respectively.
The Men's Soccer team will be back on the pitch for their final game of the regular season on Saturday afternoon at 4:30, when they take on the Northland Lumberjacks. Saturday's match will be senior night for Northwestern.
