NEW ULM, Minn. -The University of Northwestern Men's Soccer took on the Martin Luther Knights in an important conference match-up. The Eagles scored twice in the opening 45 minutes and tacked on three more goals to bring home the 5-2 victory.

In the 20th minute, Jared Mojardin (Denver, Colo./Northeast Early College) bodied his defender and faked out another before clipping a shot off the bottom of the crossbar and into the back of the net. The Eagles doubled their lead in the 41st minute off a corner, as Mojardin delivered a dangerous ball that found Luis Villalobos (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) for the tap-in goal heading into halftime.

Coming out of the break, Martin Luther struck first to cut the deficit in half, but not for long. Just four minutes later, Mojardin converted again to complete his brace. The goal came from a short corner played to Nathan Martinez (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee), who fed Mojardin, weaving through multiple defenders before slotting it home.

The match turned electric midway through the second half as the teams combined for three goals in seven minutes. In the 68th, freshman Steven Vela (Katy, Texas/Katy) started a sharp sequence, finding Charlie Van Wyk (Afton, Minn./New Life Academy), who played Curtis Tinjum (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West) in stride for a composed chip over the keeper. Moments later, Jay'ce Jones (Marina del Rey, Calif./Palisades Charter) intercepted a pass near midfield, carried it to the top of the box, and buried his shot to seal the 5-2 win.

Mojardin led the attack with two goals, an assist, and four shots with three on target. Jones added a goal on five shots, while Villalobos and Tinjum each scored on two shots on target. Martinez and Van Wyk each tallied an assist. Over the 90 minutes, Hayden DeAnnuntis (Ferndale, Wash./Ferndale) and Georden Tschida (Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial) patrolled the goal line for UNW.

With the win, the Eagles move up to third in the UMAC standings, one point ahead of Crown College and three points ahead of the University of Minnesota Morris. UNW will face both Crown and Morris next week as they look to lock in their spot in the UMAC Postseason Tournament.