NEW ULM, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's soccer team broke a scoreless deadlock at halftime with second-half goals from Mo Hoefs and Cooper Jones to defeat Martin Luther College, 2-1, on Saturday afternoon. The win lifts the Cougars to 1-9-3 (1-4-3 UMAC).

The first half featured plenty of shots from both teams, but neither could find the back of the net. Minnesota Morris had shots from Carver Hammond, Carter Watkinson, and a pair of shots from Dominik Cantu-Polster stopped by Adam Rosenbaum. Lucas Harmon had five saves in the opening 45 minutes on the opposite side of the field.

The Cougars took the lead in the 63rd minute. Carson Friestad quickly took a free kick and caught Martin Luther unaware, leading to a corner kick. On the in-swinger, Mo Hoefs roofed one from close range for a 1-0 lead. 

The advantage doubled in the 72nd minute on another set piece opportunity. Friestad and Kenyon Ponce worked a brief 1-2 before Friestad sent a ball into the box and Jones tapped it into a corner past Rosenbaum for the 2-0 edge.

Martin Luther got on the board in the 83rd minute on a goal from Joel Schewe to make things interesting down the stretch. However the Minnesota Morris defense rose to the occasion and allowed just one more shot attempt from the Knights the rest of the way.

Harmon earned the win in goal, making eight saves. Hammond led the Cougars with three shots, while Watkinson, Friestad, Ponce, and Cantu-Polster all attempted two each. 

Minnesota Morris returns home to Cougar Field on Oct. 13 to host the University of Northwestern at 1 p.m.