ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. -- North Central University (NCU) hit the road on Saturday afternoon for a massive Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) matchup with rival, Crown College. Crown got the scoring started, but the Rams were determined to not be out done. After a slow start to the match offensively, NCU found the back of the net on two different occasions in the final period to earn a tough 2-1 conference victory.
- Crown out shot the Rams 22 : 21
- Rams earn their first conference win of the year
Game Recap
Both teams struggled in the early going to find an offensive spark, as neither club could find much separation with both failing to capitalize on their respective opportunities. After over 20 minutes of scoreless soccer, Crown finally broke the scoring drought with a shot that found the back of the net in the 28th minute of the contest. Crown's lone goal sent the Rams to the break trailing 1-0. After a tough period on the offensive end for the Ram's their started to find success later in period number two. Senior
Henry Puchuela found freshman forward
Weston Buckley for an impressive goal in the 53rd minute to knot the match back up at 1-1 and flipping the momentum in favor of the Rams. With just under 25 minutes remaining in the contest the Rams were able to sneak past the Crown defense for another score. This time it was freshman
Bryant Kelley finding the back of the net for the Rams as they grab hold of their first lead of the afternoon. After grabbing on to that lead, the Rams refused to let go of it as they held Crown scoreless in the waning minutes to hold on to the 2-1 victory.
Key Perfomrers
Next Up
NCU will head back home as they prepare for a rematch with the Vikings of Bethany Lutheran College. The teams have met earlier this season, with the Vikings taking the first matchup on their home turf. This matchup is slated for 3:30 p.m. on Elliot Park Field.
Media: For further information, contact
Mike Knipe at
612-343-3541 or email mjknipe@northcentral.edu.
