Yellowjackets 3, Northland 0
ASHLAND, Wis.: After the Yellowjackets clinched a tie for the U.M.A.C. Regular Season Championship with a win over North Central last Saturday, some may have viewed it as a foregone conclusion they would win the title outright Wednesday at Northland, viewing the one-win Lumberjacks as a mere speed bump on the way to the title. The Yellowjackets viewed things differently. After experiencing heartbreak from time to time in the past, the Yellowjackets were taking nothing for granted this time around.
Rather than coasting their way through the clincher, the Yellowjackets responded with another strong effort throughout the lineup. When the final buzzer sounded, the Yellowjackets had shut out the Lumberjacks, and in the process earned the privilege to hang another banner in the rafters of the Marcovich Wellness Center on the UW-Superior campus. Goals from three different players and solid defense gave the Yellowjackets every they needed, as they defeated Northland 3-0 to win the program's first-ever U.M.A.C. Regular Season Championship.
The victory seals the top seed in the U.M.A.C. post-season for the Yellowjackets, meaning for the first time the road to the conference championship and an automatic qualifier into the N.C.A.A. tournament will have to go through Superior.
The Yellowjackets got hte eventual game-winning goal just shy of the 20-minute mark in the match when
Gustavo Barbieri (Florianópolis, Brazil/Colégio Tendência) scored his fourth goal of the season on a helper from
Felix Blick (Linkoping, Sweden/Katedralskolan) to make it 1-0. A few minutes later the Yellowjackets stretched the lead when
Elliot Chapman (Lancaster, England/Ripley St. Thomas), who scored both goals for the Yellowjackets Saturday, potted his fifth of the year to make it 2-0.
It stayed that way for a long time, as the Yellowjackets made good use of their bench while holding the Lumberjacks at bay. They closed out the scoring in the 87th minute on a marker by
Leonardo Paredes (Uberlandia, Brazil/Colegio Sao Paschoall). For Paredes, it was his seventh goal of the season, which is third on the team. The assist went to
Joao Braga (Terespolis, Brazil/Colegio Sao Paulo), giving him a point in his first appearance of the 2018 campaign.
The Yellowjackets held a huge territorial advantage in the match and in the process outshot Northland 37-1, including 14-0 in the second half.
Ulrik Lager (Vollen, Norway/Asker VGS) got the start and the victory for the Yellowjackets, pushing his record on the year to 3-0-0. He wasn't forced to make a save in the 90 minutes of play, giving him his first collegiate shutout.
Up Next: The Yellowjackets (15-2-1, 10-0-1 U.M.A.C) will close out their regular season Saturday when they travel to Morris to take on the Cougars. The opening kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.
