Notables
-CSS clinches share of UMAC regular season title and the UMAC Tournament No. 1 seed
-CSS outshot Bethany by a total of 43-6 (16-2 SOG)
-Buckton has scored five goals in the past three games
-Both Farrar and Buckton are atop the points leaderboard for CSS with 23 apiece.
MANKATO, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The College of St. Scholastica men's soccer team provided the only win on homecoming weekend for Saints fans, defeating Bethany Lutheran College by a score of 3-1 Saturday afternoon at BLC Soccer Field.
The match wasn't expected to be much of a contest. Coming into the match, Bethany Lutheran had a record of 0-14 (0-5 UMAC) while the Saints boasted an undefeated conference record at 7-5 overall (6-0 UMAC). Despite the lopsided matchup on paper the Vikings played it out, and they even went into the half tied with CSS.
Although the match was close, it didn't seem like it was going to be a two-goal difference by the final whistle as St. Scholastica's
Jordan Lennon (London, England/Chadwell Heath Academy) scored the first goal of the game just eight minutes in. The goal marked Lennon's third on the season, with assists going to
Darby Henderson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) and
Kyle Farrar (London, England/Kelsey Park Sports College).
Play started to become extra physical as a member from each team received a yellow card in the first half. It seemed as if the Saints would walk into halftime up 1-0, but with just four seconds left in the half Bethany's Jonathan Sehloff found the back of the net to tie the match at 1-1. The score may have been even after 45 minutes of play, but CSS heavily dominated in the shots department (21-5) and in the corner kicks department (9-1).
It didn't take long for St. Scholastica to regain the lead. At the 50-minute mark CSS'
Luke Buckton (Bath, England/Writhlington School) put the Saints back on top with his eighth goal on the year after a nice pass from
Josh Robak (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral).
Scoring seized for almost the next 40 minutes as CSS couldn't manage to get any of its shots past Bethany goalkeeper Matt Bitter. That is until the 87th minute, when Buckton struck for his second time on the day. Buckton's ninth goal of the season was assisted by Farrar, which gave the two players four and two points in the match, respectively. Buckton's goal would prove to be the last, giving the Saints a 3-1 victory over the Vikings.
With the victory the Saints improve to 8-5 (7-0 UMAC), while the Vikings have yet to earn a victory and fall to 0-15 (0-6 UMAC).
Up Next
St. Scholastica will now head back to Duluth for its next match, which features the No. 8 team in the nation as St. Thomas comes to town. The Saints squeaked out an incredible second-half win to upset the Tommies last year, so make sure to be there for the 2 p.m. start on Sunday afternoon at Saints Field.
