Box Score
Morris, Minn. – The University of Minnesota men's soccer team nearly knocked of one of the top teams in the country today (Sept. 12), instead settling for a 1-1 tie with No. 7 Macalester.
The Cougars struck first, on the first career goal from freshman Matt Bennis (Deephaven, Minn.) just 28:22 into the match. After a pass across from Matt Johnson (Monument, Colo.), Bennis fired off a shot deep from the right side of the penalty box, that the Scots goalkeeper just could not catch up with.
The shot was the first on goal for the Cougars, and one of just two in the game. Macalester had the edge on the stat sheet all day, but was unable to get more than their one goal. The Scots outshot the Cougars 21-to-7 in the match, and held a 10-to-1 edge on the shots on goal.
Minnesota Morris held the lead until Macalester finally broke through at 86:48 with an unassisted score from the Scots' Taylor Rasmussen. Much of the play was in the Minnesota Morris zone, and controlled by Macalester before they were able to connect on one scoring chance for the tie.
With the play deep in the Cougar zone, goalkeeper Tyler Simpson (Broomfield, Colo.) had to have a big game to keep his team in, and come up big he did. Simpson made 10 saves on the day, with many balls coming off shots through a pack right in front of the net.
The Scots took 14 corner kicks in the match to just one for the Cougars, including three in the second overtime with the game still hanging in the balance. Macalester took four shots in the last session, and five total in the extra 20 minutes, while the Cougars stayed on the defensive and did not attempt a shot.
Bennis made good on his only shot attempt of the game, while Greg Borchers (Westminster, Colo.) led the Cougar attack with three shots on the day. Rasmussen led the way for the Scots with six shots, including four that landed on net.
Today's draw is now the only blemish to the previously perfect season for Macalester who move to 4-0-1. Minnesota Morris improves to 1-2-2 on the year after their most impressive performance of 2010.
“This is by far the best team we've played,” head coach Scott Turnbull said. “And this is the best we have played so far. I think this puts us in a good spot heading into conference play”
The UMAC season begins next weekend for the Cougars, back at Cougar Field, when they host Crown in Sept. 17 and Northwestern on Sept. 18 at 4:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. respectively.
