MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- On a gorgeous night under the lights, the North Central University (NCU) men's soccer team held senior day as they battled against Bethany Lutheran College (BLC). The Rams and the Vikings faced off in this Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) matchup in which the Vikings took the win with a final score of 4-0.

Game Vitals

• BLC had 12 fouls in the game compared to NCU's two.
• Despite the score, the teams had similar shot totals with 25 for the Vikings and 19 for the Rams.

Game Recap

Knowing their opponent from their previous meeting, the Rams hunkered down and prepared for a tough game. They held the number two seeded team in the UMAC scoreless until halfway through the first 45 minutes. The Vikings netted two goals within three minutes of each in the first half and then another pair of quick goals in the first ten minutes of the second half making the score 4-0. Yet, NCU generated a good amount of offense as they had seven corner kicks, four more than BLC. Furthermore, the Rams had 19 shots and 14 of those shots were on goal.

Diego Zavala-Varela (Brooklyn Park, MN, Park Center Senior High School) led the way on the attack with five shots followed by Weston Buckley (Budapest, HU, International Christian School of Budapest), Jordan Smith (Orlando, FL, Orlando Christian Prep), and Adam Vang (Green Bay, WI, Green Bay Southwest High School) who had three shots each. NCU's goalkeeper, Sam Thurston (Crystal, MN, Robbinsdale Cooper), faced a lot good kicks from the BLC attackers, but managed to save nine of those. 

The Rams celebrated their two seniors, Tyler Johnsen (Lindstrom, MN, Chisago Lakes High School) and Rodrigo De Mendoza (Panama City, Panama, Crossroads Christian Academy). Johnsen leads at center back position and De Mendoza controls the middle of the field at center midfielder. Both seniors and captains will be sorely missed as they graduate, but will be greatly remembered for the talent and growth they brought to the men's soccer program.

Looking Ahead

With the regular season finished, NCU heads into the NCCAA Tournament. The Rams take on Moody Bible Institute this coming Friday at 2:30 pm in Iowa. All fans are encouraged to follow official Rams Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages for updates on the men's soccer team and much more information.