Box Score MINNEAPOLIS – This past Saturday in Elliot Park, North Central men's soccer defeated Northland College in the Homecoming game 4-1 on a beautiful day in downtown Minneapolis. Josue Boutouli, Ian Brekhus, and Dennis Morales all scored for North Central giving the Rams the edge in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) game.
From the first whistle the physicality of the game was intense with possession and shots traded back and forth between the Rams and the Lumberjacks. But in the 6th minute of play North Central was awarded a penalty kick and Josue Boutouli (Lome, Togo/Eagan) slotted it home for the goal. Despite Northland outshooting the Rams in the first half the Rams lead the Lumberjacks to end the first period of play.
In the second half the Rams scored three more times to finish the game and go home with a win. In the 55th minute of play Boutouli received the ball in the midfield and dribbled into the box and beat the keeper going near post for the goal. The goal was unassisted in Boutouli's effort to beat two defenders and get the shot off in the box under pressure. With that goal, Boutouli is tied for most goals in the UMAC with 9 goals in 14 games.
Seven minutes later the Rams would score again but this time from Ian Brekhus (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) who received a ball at the 6-yard spot from Kaleb Smith (Kijabe, Kenya/Rift Valley Acamedy) off a cross from the left side of the field. Brekhus was able to shake his defender and emerge goal side of the ball and tap it in for the goal. The physical nature of the game intensified at this point as Northland was still looking to score but seemingly could not get past previous UMAC Player of the Week, Gabe Hartwig (Eagle River, Wis./Northland Pines) in the net for the Rams. Then in the 75th minute the Rams solidified their probability of a win when both Josue Boutouli and Dennis Morales (Eagan, Minn./Eagan) were attacking the net. Boutouli was able to once again work past northland defenders and shot on goal when Morales was able to reassure the goal by tapping into the back of the net bringing the score to 4-0 for the Rams.
In the 89th minute of play as the Lumberjacks were looking to score they were awarded a penalty kick for a push from behind on the Rams. Hartwig made the best of the scenario and made a great dive to the right side of the goal but Northland went to the left side and scored in the final minutes of play. However, the Rams would go on to win 4-1 in the Homecoming game in Elliot Park.
With that result the Rams are 9-4-1 for 2016 and 3-2-1 in UMAC games. North Central will have another home game on Tuesday October 18th against National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) regional opponent Providence University College. The game will start at 3:15 p.m. Live stats and video can be found here. Following Tuesday's game, the Rams will travel to Morris, Minnesota on Saturday for an UMAC matchup with the Cougars. Game time for Saturday's game will be set for 1:00 p.m.
