ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern Men's Soccer team took on the Buena Vista Beavers on Wednesday evening. UNW won 3-2, but the night belonged to
Josiah Mezey (Monument, Colo./Village), who scored all three goals.
The Beavers got off to a hot start, scoring 90 seconds into the game; the next 30 minutes consisted of a lot of midfield possession, while both teams tallied two shots on target.
Joe Nyagaka (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) led
Nathan Parker (Lino Lakes, Minn./Homeschool) into open space in the 32nd minute. Parker controlled the ball in the box and was tripped by the keeper, drawing a penalty kick. Mezey stepped up and confidently buried the ball in the back of the net to tie the score at one, scoring the first goal of his Northwestern career.
Mezey wasn't done offensively, and 60 seconds into the second half, he dribbled through several defenders and launched a shot from deep. His shot clipped the top corner, out of the reach of the keeper, to score the Eagles' second goal of the afternoon. Buena Vista responded with their second goal in the 63rd minute.
The hats came off for Mezey in the 72nd minute when he scored his third goal. The sophomore collected the ball after a missed touch by a BV defender; he took one dribble to lose another defender and released a bullet of a shot to retake the lead.
Mezey scored his three goals in 46 minutes on the field.
Max Plaza (New Brighton, Minn./St. Anthony Village) and Parker each tallied two shots, while
Elijah Johnson (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall),
Ayden Snyder (Spring Valley, Calif./Moanalua), and Nyagaka added one shot. Logan Hutzenbiller played all 90 minutes in goal and finished with one save.
The Eagles play again at home on Saturday, September 19, at 6:30 PM. They face Bethany Lutheran to open their UMAC play.
