Morris, MN -- North Central University (NCU) men's soccer team made the trip to Morris, MN today to face off with the University of Minnesota Morris (UMM) Cougars. This would be the second meeting between these squads with North Central winning the first matchup 2-1 in Minneapolis. Today, the Cougars got revenge as Morris walked away with a 3-1 victory as the teams split the season series.

North Central went on the attack early, as NCU's leading scorer, Alvin Wlejleh, put a shot on goal early that would be denied by the Morris keeper. Then in the 13th minute, the Cougars found the back of the net on their first shot attempt of the game to take a 1-0 lead. Not too much later, MN-Morris capitalized once more to take a 2-0 advantage. NCU did all they could to answer UMM, as they outshot the home team 10-5 in the half. However, the Cougars shut out the Rams as they held on to their 2-0 after one. 

NCU's speedy freshman, Sam Saye, started the second half in hopes of providing a much-needed spark. He was close to doing just that with a shot on goal after five minutes, but the Cougars goalkeeper continued his strong afternoon performance. In the 62nd minute, UMM struck again to go up 3-0 on the Rams. North Central continued to test the defense of Morris as they totaled 22 total shots in the second half. Eventually, in the 72nd minute, freshman Wilfredo Chavez found fellow first-year Sam Saye down the left sideline, who put a move on the Cougars defender and sent a left-footed crosser into the box. A poor touch by the Morris defender sent the ball into the back of the net for the Rams' only score of the match. Despite outshooting Morris 32-10 on their home field, North Central suffered the 3-1 loss. 

Today's box score can be viewed here.

Looking Ahead:

This Saturday, November 2nd, North Central returns to DowntownU for the final regular season contest of the year against the Martin Luther College Knights. That one is slated for a 1:00 PM kickoff. 

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