ST. PAUL, Minn. – For the second consecutive University of Northwestern Men's Soccer game, there were no winners and losers. After drawing, 2-2, with St. Scholastica on September 9
th, Northwestern had a nine-day break before reaching the same result in its 2024 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference opener against Bethany Lutheran College, by a 1-1 score. The tie brought UNW's record to 1-2-2 on the season after starting 0-2.
Bethany Lutheran got off the bus ready to play, picking up a highlight reel goal in just the second minute on a missile of a one-timer by Raheem Graham. The Eagles didn't cower; however, as
Jared Mojardin (Denver, Colo./Northeast Early College) provided a highlight of his own, bending a shot left to right with his left foot to even the score at one in the ninth minute.
The rest of the game went scoreless as the UMAC foes increased the physicality throughout the match. Neither team was able to manage a shot on goal after Northwestern's goal, though the Eagles did out-shoot the Vikings 10-7. To speak to the physical nature of the match, there wound up being more fouls (21) than shots (17) when all was said and done.
Mojardin led UNW in shots with three and provided Northwestern's lone shot on goal, which he made.
Simeon Friesen (Mounds View, Minn./Homeschool), who was named UMAC Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, assisted on the goal.
Curtis Tinjum (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West) and
Joe Nyagaka (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) each took two shots, while
Julian Ortiz Menjivar (Oakdale, Minn./North St. Paul),
Bobby Moeller (Sheboygan Falls, Wis./Sheboygan Christian) and
Jackson Bauer (Lake in the Hills, Ill./Huntley) each shot once.
Michael Machuca (Rock Island, Ill./Rock Island) saved the only other shot on goal he faced aside from the early BLC goal. He was provided great help by defenders
Tim DeLoye (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West) (who made his 50
th career start Wednesday),
Troy Johnson (Killeen, Texas/Killeen),
Ryan Agudo Medina (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) and
Nathan Martinez (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee).
Northwestern's first UMAC road test will come Saturday when the Eagles travel to Crown College. Kickoff in St. Bonifacius is scheduled for 3:00 PM after the conclusion of the women's game. The game can be streamed on the UMAC Sports Network, available online, in app stores and on Roku.
