Yellowjackets 3, Bethel 0

A year ago the Yellowjacket men's soccer team was among the highest-scoring teams in the nation, scoring 75 teams en route to a U.M.A.C. Championship and a trip to the N.C.A.A. tournament. It's been a different story early in 2018, however, as the Yellowjackets were 0-2-0 and scoreless through 180 minutes of play.

All that changed Wednesday night, as the Yellowjackets scored once early, twice late to earn a physical 3-0 win over Bethel at the N.B.C. Spartan Sports Complex.

The Yellowjackets took control of the match early, owning a territorial advantage and putting several shots on goal early. They broke through in the 12th minute when James Bruce (Gladstone, Mich./Gladstone) scored the first goal of the year for the Yellowjackets, heading a ball off of a corner kick past the Bethel goalkeeper to make it 1-0. Elliot Chapman (Lancaster, England/Ripley St. Thomas) assisted.

Following the Yellowjacket goal Bethel seemed to calm down and had several good opportunities against the strong Yellowjacket defense, but were stymied each time.

As the match progressed, both teams ramped up the physical play, meaning the two sides were earning their opportunities.

With the score still at 1-0 late in the match, the Yellowjackets gave themselves some insurance with a pair of goals in quick succession. Mason Tynsky (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) took a lob from midfield off the foot of Noah Merritt (Woodville, Wis./Baldwin-Woodville) and worked the ball past Bethel goalkeeper Brant Wieber to make it a 2-0 score. Then just over a minute later it went to 3-0 when freshman Blake Hanson (Superior, Wis./Superior) took a feed in the box from Adrian Leal (Alicante, Spain/IES Cabo de la Huerta) and tapped it into the goal for his first goal as a Yellowjacket.

The Yellowjackets outshot Bethel 20-16 in the match. They were led by Blake Perry (Anoka, Minn./Anoka), who had five shots in the contest, including three on goal. Perry had some glorious opportunities to score his first collegiate goal, but came up empty on the night.

Dalton VonKaenel (Eagan, Minn./Eagan H.S.) got the start in goal for the Yellowjackets and got the win, improving his record to 1-1-0 on the young season. He finished the shutout effort with six saves.

Up Next: The Yellowjackets (1-2-0, 0-0-0 U.M.A.C.) will take on Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota Friday, September 7. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m.