Yellowjackets 3, North Central 0
SUPERIOR, Wis.: Saturday marked the final home game of the regular season for the Yellowjacket women's soccer team. And on this crisp late October day, the Yellowjackets looked to send the 2018 senior class out in style and in the process sweep the season series from North Central. Another important factor entering the day, the match was critical for the Yellowjackets if they wished to remain in the hunt for a berth in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference playoffs.
The home team knew what it needed to do, and it did it from the opening kickoff.
The Yellowjackets dominated the Rams, scoring twice in the first half to cruise to a 3-0 win at the N.B.C. Spartan Sports Complex.
It was the second day in a row the Yellowjackets won a match 3-0, having defeated Rockford by the same score Friday on North Central's home pitch. This time around things were much more important, and the Yellowjackets came through. The victory keeps the Yellowjackets in the thick of the U.M.A.C. playoff picture, as they currently are tied for fifth place, but are on the outside looking in as Bethany Lutheran owns the tiebreaker.
The Yellowjackets opened the scoring early when
Amanda Opalinski (Savage, Minn./Burnsville), off a feed from
Sarah Fjeran (Duluth, Minn./Marshall School), scored her third goal of the year in the 14th minute. Fjeran worked the ball to Opalinski in the left side of the box, and the freshman made no mistake, beating Rams' goalkeeper Ellie Tieszen.
A few minutes later it went to 2-0.
Annah Schussman (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) started the play with a corner kick, and after the ball was played by
Erin Schoborg (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech),
Claire Smith (Hayward, Wis./Hayward) pounced on the loose ball, driving home her second goal of the year in the 29th minute.
With less than 10 minutes elapsed in the second half North Central had a golden opportunity to get on the board and saw the Yellowjacket lead in half. A Superior foul was called in the box resulting in a penalty kick for the Rams, but
Madison Gutekunst (Mound, Minn./Mound Westonka) read the play perfectly, and deflected the close-range kick away to her right to keep it 2-0.
Shortly after the huge Gutekunst save the Yellowjackets put the match out of reach. Smith and Schussman worked a beautiful give-and-go down the right side, and Schussman finished the play with a blast from the right side of the box to make the final score 3-0. Schussman's fifth goal of the year came in the 65th minute.
The Yellowjackets outshot the Rams 21-10 for the match and held an edge of 14-4 in shots on goal. Smith and
Liza Shelquist (Pine Island, Minn./Pine Island) each had four shots to lead the Yellowjackets.
Gutekunst earned her second shutout of the season, making four saves. Her record for the year now stands at 4-5-0.
Up Next: The Yellowjackets (6-10-1, 5-5-0 U.M.A.C.) will look to make it three wins in a row when they travel to Northland College Wednesday. The match will get underway at 3:30 p.m. in Ashland, Wisconsin.
