Notables:
-Pryde, Smith and Francis record first collegiate goals
-Bulheller records third shutout of season
-Conference opener for Northwestern
ST. PAUL, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – A cold and rainy day set the stage Saturday afternoon for an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men's soccer matchup between the St. Scholastica Saints and the University of Northwestern Eagles. St. Scholastica was able to play a strong defensive game and get timely goals to come home with a solid win in the conference.
How It Happened
Very early in the half St. Scholastica had offensive chances, but the sole shot was taken by
Armin Bobaric (Andover, Minn./Andover HS) that went off target. Northwestern (1-9-1, 0-1-0 UMAC) took very few shots towards net, which made life easy for
Corey Bulheller (Middleton, England/Highfields Secondary School (Bacone)) in the net for the Saints. A defensive based first half was brought to an end when in the 36
th minute
Ken Pryde (Fareham, England/Barton Peveril College) scored the first goal of the game for the Saints off an assist from
Craig Chudley (Exeter, England/Exeter College). The Saints got their offensive momentum going and had six shots in a span of four minutes, but unfortunately were unable to get any more through the net in the half.
Shortly before the 56
th minute the Saints were able to double their lead by way of a
Joe Smith (Morpeth, England/King Edwards VI School) goal from
William Francis (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) increasing the lead to 2-0. Francis would follow up his assist with a goal just under five minutes later, getting the assist from
Alex Dodd (Burnsville, Minn./Burnsville HS) giving the Saints a comfortable 3-0 lead with just under 30 minutes left in regulation. St. Scholastica would hold their own on both sides of the ball with reserves coming in to give the starters a rest pending their road trip and two-game weekend.
Northwestern was able to edge St. Scholastica in shots 20-19, but the Saints defense only allowed two clean looks for the Eagles both of which were cleaned up by the Saints' goalkeeper.
The Saints were also on the other end of corner kicks 11-9, but neither team was able to capitalize on the corner kick opportunities.
Bulheller made two saves in net for the Saints with the defense making his goalkeeping job trouble-free.
Up Next
The Saints (3-10-0, 3-1-0 UMAC) will be traveling to Indianola, Iowa to face Simpson College (Iowa) in a non-conference matchup tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon. The game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
