Notables
-CSS now leads the all-time series by a record of 23-3-3
-St. Scholastica outshot Morris 23-9
-Buckton's third multi-goal game of the year
-The Saints have now won 11 consecutive games versus Morris, with the streak beginning after a tie in 2011.
DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The College of St. Scholastica men's soccer program kept to its winning ways Saturday afternoon, taking down the University of Minnesota Morris Cougars at Saints Field by a score of 2-1 to extend its conference record to a perfect 4-0-0.
The Action
The first half proved to be the less exciting of the two, as neither team managed to find the back of the net after the first 45 minutes had elapsed. The Saints heavily dominated the first half, however, as they put the pressure on the Cougars from start to finish. Both
Darby Henderson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) and
Juan Ochoa (Chihuahua, Mexico/Prepa Tec) managed to fire two shots each at the keeper before the 20-minute mark, proving to be quite the task to handle early on for the Cougar defensemen.
Later in the half, with around 15 minutes remaining, the Saints managed to fire three straight shots on goal as a header from Ochoa, a shot from Henderson, and a shot from
Kyle Hewitt (Richmond Hill, Ontario/St. Theresa of Lisieux) were all saved by Morris keeper Cody Christ. The last shot of the half would be taken by Ochoa, who sent one high over the crossbar with one minute remaining. Both teams ended the half scoreless.
The first shot of the second half came off the foot of
Luke Buckton (Bath, England/Writhlington School), who received a nice ball from
Noah Hooey (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown HS) and managed to lob one up and over the keeper before being tackled to the ground. In fact, Buckton was able to watch his goal go in while laying down right next to the keeper from about 10 yards out to give the Saints a 1-0 lead.
The Saints threatened again four minutes later at the 52-minute mark when
Trygve Rennan (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) sent a header towards the net. Christ managed to save it, however, and keep the damage at a minimum as the score remained 1-0.
The 63rd minute is when Buckton struck again, this one being a much cleaner goal as he received a beautiful pass over the middle of the field from Ochoa that made its way through three Cougar defenders. The pass was a bit high, but Buckton adjusted on the fly and redirected the ball towards the net past the keeper to make it 2-0. Also assisting on the play was Henderson, who made a nice move around a Cougar player before dropping it off to Ochoa.
Morris didn't go away, scoring a goal of their own in the 76th minute thanks to Konrad Laack's first of the season to bring them within one of the Saints. Despite having a few chances afterwards,
Sandy Davidson-Hunt (Kenora, Ontario/St. Thomas Aquinas) and the Saints stayed rock solid and kept the Cougars out of the net the rest of the way to earn themselves a 2-1 UMAC victory.
The Saints now improve to 6-2-0 on the season, while boasting a 4-0-0 conference record. The Cougars fall to 2-4-1 (0-2-1 UMAC).
Up Next
The Saints will head back on the road after their successful two-game homestand, heading to St. Paul Saturday afternoon to take on the University of Northwestern Eagles at 5 p.m.
