MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Men's Soccer opened up their Upper Midwest Athletic Conference  play Friday afternoon in Coon Rapids by hosting Bethany Lutheran College (Mankato, Minn). The Rams could not keep up with the Vikings and were defeated 6-1.

After being off for more than two weeks, North Central (1-3-0, 0-1-0) looked strong to open the game and went back and forth with the Vikings until the 7th minute when the Vikings netted their first goal of conference play.

The Rams would respond five minutes later when senior Stephen Johnson (Minneapolis, Minn/South) scored his team leading third goal in the 12th minute. Johnson controlled the ball after a shot from junior Christian Stepaniak (Woodbury, Minn/Maranatha Christian) deflected off the top of the cross bar.

The Vikings scored two more goals before the break and went into halftime with a 3-1 lead. The second half did not get much better for the Rams as the Vikings added on three more to make it a 6-1 win. Bethany Lutheran more that doubled up on North Cental in the shots column and finished with an 18-8 advantage. 

The men have a quick turnaround as they will host Martin Luther (New Ulm, Minn) in their second conference match-up Saturday evening at Parade Stadium in Minneapolis. Kick off is set for 5:30 p.m.