Box Score

DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica men's soccer team won the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Postseason Tournament for the second straight season Saturday, defeating the University of Minn.-Morris by a 4-1 final on Saints Field to earn an automatic qualification to the NCAA National Tournament.

Scoring a goal in Tuesday's semifinals and two goals in the tournament championship game, the Saints' #Jermaine Dacres# was named UMAC Tournament Most Valuable Player.

The Saints improve their season record to 17-3-2 in advancing to their first ever NCAA tournament, while the Cougars fall to 10-7-4.

Morris got on the board first in the 19th minute, as Toby Glaser launched a shot from approximately 40 yards out which snuck into the top left corner of the net to give the Cougars a 1-0 advantage.

The goal served only to light a spark in the Saints, who immediately took control of the offense and controlled play for the next several minutes. A foul in the box gave the Saints an opportunity to tie the game with a penalty kick, but Morris goalkeeper Tyler Simpson made a diving save to deny #Greg Doornink# and the Saints, albeit only momentarily.

A foul just outside the box led to a free kick for the Saints just before the 30-minute mark, which Jermaine Dacres (Nottingham, England/Haywood School) bent inside the far post for the game-tying goal.

The Saints came back just seven minutes later as #Toby Peter# struck for his seventh of the season, following a scuffle in front in which the Cougars made several team saves to deny the Saints. With the goal, Peter now has 102 career points and stands alone in fourth place all-time on the CSS career scoring leaders list. With third place sitting at 130 points, Peter will likely finish in fourth place when the Saints season ends, barring a historic run in the NCAA Tournament.

The 2-1 score held through the half, and the Cougars pressured the Saints early in the second, but in the 78th minute, #Cody Sveiven# got the Saints back on the board with his 11th goal of the season. #Dustin James# had the assist and now sits in a 16th-place tie among Saints career scoring leaders.

Dacres completed the scoring in the final three minutes, netting his second of the contest and 17th of the season, another unassisted tally.

Junior goalkeeper #Sam Reed# finished with three saves while his Saints defense made one to preserve the victory. For the Cougars, Simpson finished with four saves as well as three team saves before him in taking the loss. CSS finished with 20 shots while holding the Cougars to eight.

The Saints will now wait to see where they will be headed in their first NCAA Tournament appearance. The men's selection show will be web streamed live on Monday at 1 p.m. on NCAA.com