MORRIS, Minn. – After trailing 2-0, the University of Minnesota Morris men's soccer team rallied to defeat the University of Northwestern 3-2 in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play on Saturday.
The Cougars finish the regular season at 11-5-2 overall and 8-3-1 in the UMAC, while the Eagles finish at 4-15 overall and 1-11 in conference play. Minnesota Morris finished third in the conference standings, its best finish since the 2015 season.
Before the match, eight seniors were honored:
Haider Merchant,
Mackenzie Amoako,
Burke Sheppard,
Chann Piseth,
Keenan McCall,
Brayden Rock,
Andreas Garcia and
Cade Simonson.
The first shot of the game came in the seventh minute from Amoako, but his attempt was corralled by the goalkeeper.
Chann Piseth had a look at goal but pushed his shot wide left. The Eagles took the lead in the 22nd minute. Minutes later,
Jake Anargyros had a chance to level the game, but his shot hit the woodwork. The Cougars continued to put shots on goal but could not beat the keeper. Before halftime, Northwestern added another goal to take a 2-0 lead into the break.
Nearly 10 minutes into the second half, UMM earned a free kick deep in Eagle territory.
Karson Busch took the free kick, which deflected off Simonson and found
Charlie Adams, who put the ball in the back of the net. Minutes later,
Brayden Rock hit the post. In the 64th minute, Adams sent a ball to
Jean-Patrick Koko, who made a move around a defender and found the side netting to level the game. The pressure continued as
Justin Page made a run to the edge of the 18-yard box and sent a square pass to Adams, who scored his second goal of the game to put UMM ahead with 18 minutes remaining. The Cougars held onto the lead to secure the 3-2 victory.
Adams recorded five points to take the team lead in scoring. The first-year forward netted a career-high two goals and assisted on the other. Koko scored his first career goal in the win. Simonson, Busch and Page also added assists. The Cougars recorded 18 shots, with seven on target. Adams led the team with six shots, four of which were on goal.
Dutch Bullock started in goal and made one save, while
Zander Kuhfeld entered in the first half and added two saves.
The Cougars begin postseason play on Wednesday at Bethany Lutheran College. The game time will be announced at a later date.
