Late goal allows St. Scholastica to edge Yellowjackets

Brian Grand scored his fifth goal of the season for the Yellowjackets.

Box Score

St. Scholastica 4, Superior 3

Coming off an overtime thriller against UW-Whitewater on Saturday, the UW-Superior men's soccer team probably figured on having a repeat performance Tuesday evening.

After all, the Yellowjackets were facing off against border rivals St. Scholastica under the lights at Ordean Stadium. And the two teams didn't disappoint, delivering seven total goals in a hard-fought contest before boisterous fans from both schools.

Unfortunately for UW-Superior, St. Scholastica proved one step ahead, scoring a goal with 12:40 left in regulation to break a 3-3 tie on the way to claiming a 4-3 win in Duluth.

The loss dropped the Yellowjackets to 9-6-1 for the season ahead of Saturday's regular-season home-finale against Macalester. St. Scholastica meanwhile improved to 14-2 on the season with the victory.

The Saints jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first half as Sean Morgan and Andrew Jenkins scored at 17:45 and 34:28 respectively for a 2-0 St. Scholastica lead heading into the intermission.

UW-Superior trimmed the deficit at 62:10 of the second half when Reyman Solis (Kirkland, Ill./Huntley) found Brian Grand (North Branch, Minn./North Branch), who finished off a pretty passing play for the senior's fifth goal of to bring the Yellowjackets to within 2-1 with just under 28 minutes remaining in regulation.

St. Scholastica upped the margin to 3-1 just 3:30 later as Kyle Farrar scored on a header at the 65:40 mark for a 3-1 Saints advantage.

The Yellowjackets came right back as Gio Rodriguez (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Los Osos) took a short-pass from Solis and fired a low-shot past Saints goal tender Jacob Ballheimer with 23:02 remaining to cut the St. Scholastica edge to 3-2.

UW-Superior completed the comeback just 2:58 later when Dan Baker (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) poked a loose-ball into Ballheimer's net at the 69:56 mark to even matters 3-3 with 20:04 showing on the clock.

St. Scholastica broke the tie with just over 12 minutes left when Jenkins scored his second goal of the game, tapping Morgan's shot into the Yellowjacket net at the 78:20 mark of the second half.

The Yellowjackets attempted to rally back in the last minute, getting a corner-kick with just 18 seconds left in regulation. But Solis' cross was handled by the Saints defense, preserving the victory for St. Scholastica.

For the game, the Saints held a 21-12 edge in shots, including a 14-5 advantage in the first half.

The Yellowjackets were led by Rodriguez with four shots. Matt Elder (New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) took the loss in goal with six saves for UW-Superior.

St. Scholastica was paced by Morgan with a game-high six shots. Ballheimer made one save in picking up the win for the Saints.

Opening kick against the Scots on Saturday is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Yellowjacket Field.

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Players Mentioned

#5 Dan Baker: M; 6' 0"; Senior

#1 Matt Elder: GK; 5' 11"; Senior

#17 Brian Grand: F; 5' 11"; Senior

#10 Gio Rodriguez: M; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#6 Reyman Solis: M; 5' 8"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#5 Dan Baker
: 6' 0"; Senior
: M

#1 Matt Elder
: 5' 11"; Senior
: GK

#17 Brian Grand
: 5' 11"; Senior
: F

#10 Gio Rodriguez
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: M

#6 Reyman Solis
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: M