St. Thomas 4, UW-Superior 3
ST. PAUL, Minn. (November 11, 2017) – In their first ever NCAA Tournament berth, the Yellowjackets men's soccer team faced No. 6 St. Thomas on the Tommies' home field. Superior wouldn't go down without a fight, as they scored three goals in the 4-3 loss, something that hadn't been done against the Tommies all season. Adrian Leal would have a foot in all three of the 'Jacket goals, scoring two and adding an assist.
The Yellowjackets got on the board first against the Tommies, Leal was able to find the back of the net on a ball assisted by Fernando Bicalho. St. Thomas immediately fired back, scoring 30 seconds later to tie at 1-1, and then score two more to head into halftime ahead 3-1.
A red card in the 41st minute from the St. Thomas' goalie would provide an advantage for Superior in the second half, as the Tommies played with 10 men for the rest of the game.
Superior wouldn't go down so easily. Just two minutes into the second half, Mualigbe Keita scored, while Leal recorded his second point on the day with the assist, cutting the Tommies' lead to one.
St. Thomas would add another goal to their lead in the 56th minute to go up again by two. The Yellowjackets still had fight in them late in the second half as Leal scored again with five minutes remaining, this time unassisted.
Superior would get one more chance on a corner kick opportunity sent in by Gunnar O'Neill-Sengbush, but they couldn't find the net, falling 4-3.
The Yellowjackets fired 11 shots on the game, nine coming in the second half. Dalton VonKaenel would make four saves in 90 minutes for Superior.
This loss concludes a great season from the Yellowjackets, as they went 14-7-2 on the season, capturing their first ever UMAC Championship, and their first ever NCAA Tournament berth. They will look to improve over the offseason and make another run in 2018.
