Yellowjackets 2, North Central 0
SUPERIOR, Wis.: Saturday afternoon the Yellowjackets had a chance to do something it hasn't done in the past - lock up a conference regular season championship. From the years in the W.I.A.C., to most recent history in the U.M.A.C., the Yellowjackets have never been the team hoisting the trophy for regular season supremacy.
They had a chance to change all that when they hosted North Central on a frigid Saturday afternoon. It was Senior Day, to boot, meaning the Yellowjackets had a prime chance to send a group that has been so pivotal in elevating the Yellowjacket men's soccer program to powerhouse status.
It wasn't easy, but the Yellowjackets got the job done, scoring a pair of second half goals to defeat the Rams 2-0 and clinch a share of the 2018 U.M.A.C. Championship.
In the early going the field was tilted, as the Yellowjackets held a strong territorial advantage. That advantage was aided by North Central, which employed a strange tactic, one which saw them allow the Yellowjackets to control the ball while they collapsed around their goal. Throughout the Rams didn't generate much in the way of offense, and their defensive stance was hard to defeat.
The Yellowjackets outshot North Central 12-2 in the first half, but the match was scoreless at the break.
It stayed scoreless until the 51st minute when one of the seniors honored at halftime,
Elliot Chapman (Lancaster, England/Ripley St. Thomas), let a shot go from about 20 yards out that cleared North Central goalkeeper Gabe Hartwig to make it 1-0. Chapman's third of the year was assisted by another senior,
Fernando Bicalho (Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil/Kickapoo (Wis.)).
Exactly 10 minutes later Chapman made it a Senior Day to remember, when he gave the Yellowjackets a little breathing room. Following a North Central foul, Chapman lined up for the free kick from about 20 yards away from the goal. He let the kick go and it bounced through the lines of players, and everyone just watched the ball bounce, possibly thinking it was going to go wide of the goal. Instead it took a hop and went past Hartwig to push the Yellowjacket lead to 2-0.
That would be all the scoring for the Yellowjackets, and North Central didn't mount much of an attack the rest of the way.
Shots in the match favored the Yellowjackets at 19-3. Shots on goal were 12-2, also favoring the Yellowjacktes.
Dalton VonKaenel (Eagan, Minn./Eagan H.S.) continued his stellar season, making two saves to get the shutout, his second of the season. His record now stands at 12-1-1 for the year.
Up Next: The Yellowjackets (14-2-1, 9-0-1 U.M.A.C.) will look to lock up the program's first-ever U.M.A.C. regular season title on the road Wednesday at Northland. The match is set to get underway at 1:00 p.m.
