Box Score MINNEAPOLIS – North Central men's soccer secured a 4-0 victory over Bethany Lutheran on Tuesday afternoon at home in Elliot Park. Ian Brekhus (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) led the Rams offensively with a hat trick and four shots on goal to help the Rams earn an 11-5-1 record going into their final game on Friday afternoon against Superior.
Immediately after the first whistle the Rams applied heavy offensive pressure on the Vikings back line. In the 8th minute it proved successful when Ian Brekhus made a run behind the defense and received a ball at the top of the 18-yard box and volleyed it into the net. The Rams lead 1-0 but kept firing shots at the Bethany defense. Brekhus scored his second goal of the game in the 28th minute when he received a ball inside the box and was able to head it far post past the Vikings keeper to go up 2-0 in the first half. The Rams finished the half outshooting the Vikings 8-1 and with a 2-0 lead.
In the second half the Rams were able to maintain the heavy offensive pressure and doubled their lead. In the 57th minute Dennis Morales (Eagan, Minn./Eagan) received a beautiful cross into the box from Kaleb Smith (Kijabe, Kenya/Rift Valley Academy) and tapped it past the Vikings keeper with his chest. The Rams and Vikings exchanged shots and opportunities before the 66th minute when Brekhus was able to receive a ball from Morales, dribble across the top of the 18-yard box, and shoot upper ninety crossbar for his third goal of the day and first hat trick of the season. The Rams finished the day with 11 shots, 4 corner kicks, and 0 fouls in a dominate game for North Central.
Gabe Hartwig (Eagle River, Wis./Northland Pines) had two saves for the Rams and recorded his eighth shutout of the season. In addition, Hartwig leads the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) with goals against average (.960) and save percentage (.837). The Rams plan to capitalize on the win and Hartwig's strong performance in net going into Friday's UMAC game against University of Wisconsin-Superior in the final game of the regular season and for a chance to make the UMAC playoffs. Friday's game will kick off at 1 p.m. Live stats and video can be found here.
