Ashland, WI -- On Wednesday, the North Central University (NCU) Rams men's soccer team traveled to Ashland, Wisconsin to take on the Northland College (NC) Lumberjacks. This is the second face-off of the season, with their previous match resulting in a Rams 4-0 victory. In tonight's game, history would repeat itself with another victory over the Lumberjacks with a 5-3 final score. All five goals came from NCU sophomore Alvin Wlejleh, who set a new program record with a historical performance on the road. 

The Rams were hot right from the beginning of the match, with three first-half goals off their thirteen attempted shots in the first half. NCU's defense was on high alert, holding the Lumberjacks to zero shot attempts in the first half. At the 39th minute mark, Alvin Wlejleh scored his first goal off of a free kick, with the right-footed rocket finding the lower right corner of the net. The second NCU goal of the first half was the result of a squabble in front of NC's box. After the ball hit the crossbar of the opponent's goalpost, Wlejleh made his way back into the box to cash in another goal. Scored in the 20th minute of the game, Wlejleh's second was assisted by freshman Wilfredo Chavez. The third and final goal of the first half came by way of Wlejleh once again. Sophomore Santiago Grams booted the ball from just past midfield to the head of Wlejleh, who masterfully put the third point on the board for the Rams. This would be Alvin Wlejleh's first career hat trick performance, but his night would not be over quite yet. North Central substituted several fresh legs in the final minutes of the half as the Rams held Northland scoreless at 3-0. 

Opening the second half, the Rams obtained yet again another header goal by Alvin Wlejleh after just four minutes of action. After building a pretty safe lead, the Rams turned to the bench as many starters took a rest. With right around 15 minutes to go, Northland found their second wind as they rattled off 3 goals in a matter of seven minutes to propel the Lumberjacks back into the game. However, this momentum home team was short-lived, as North Central ended the match with a bang. With just two minutes left of the match, NCU's sophomore Rodrigo Burgos found a streaking Wlejleh with a beautiful through ball. Staring the Lumberjack's keeper in the eye, Wlejleh snuck a right-footed shot past him to all but seal this one. The NCU bench would erupt with jubilation as his teammates applauded the historically 5-goal performance by sophomore Alvin Wlejleh and an NCU 5-3 victory. 

Today's box score can be found here.


Looking Ahead:

The Rams will return home this Saturday, October 19th to Elliot Park Field to take on the Northwestern Eagles. That match is slated for a 1:00 PM start. 

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