ST. PAUL, Minn.-- North Central Men's Soccer dropped a road match at The University of Nortwestern on Friday afternoon. A pair of Eagles goals game just a bit more than minute apart in the first half and the Rams never got their offense going enough to mount a comeback.

North Central and Northwestern (St. Paul, Minn.) battled through a mostly even second half but the Eagles lead built in the first half was insurmountable for the Rams. North Central fell behind in the 22nd minute and surrendered another score in the 23rd and that would be all the hosts would need as the Rams could not get their offense going.

Northwestern outshot the Rams 19-6 on the day and the Eagles had more chances but the Rams never took advantage of several promising runs made in the last 15 minutes that could have changed the tide. The Eagles led in corner kicks, 4-1, in the first half but had a just a 3-2 advantage in the second stanza.

The two friendly Upper Midwest Athletic Conference rivals separated by less than 15 miles will meet up again tomorrow in the second date in their conference round robin schedule. This time the Rams will host the Eagles for a 2:15 p.m. kickoff at Coon Rapids Soccer Complex.