SUPERIOR, Wis. – The UW-Superior men's soccer team scored five times in the first half on its way to a 6-0 shutout of Martin Luther in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference semifinals at NBC Spartan Sports Complex Wednesday.
The top-seeded Yellowjackets received a pair of goals from sophomore
Blake Perry (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) and goal and assist from both senior
Eric Watson (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Hammarskjold) and junior
Blake Doyea (Ramsey, Minn./Anoka) to win their eighth consecutive match.
With the win, the Yellowjackets improve to 15-3-2 and advance to their fifth consecutive UMAC championship contest. UWS hosts St. Scholastica Saturday at 1 p.m., looking for their third straight conference title and NCAA tournament berth. The Saints (7-12-1) were 3-0 winners over Bethany Lutheran in the other semifinal Wednesday in Duluth.
Perry opened the scoring in the fourth minute, beating Martin Luther goalkeeper Josh Higgins on the ground with a deft touch into the side netting.
Miguel Ocampo (St. Louis Park, Minn./St. Louis Park) assisted on the goal that sent UWS off and running.
Superior scored four goals in 6:21 for a 5-0 lead at halftime.
Pontus Tavemark (Taeby, Sweden/Taeby Enskilden Gymnasium) made it 2-0 at 24:24, cleaning up the rebound of a Perry shot.
Eric Watson (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Hammarskjold) then beat Higgins at 27:40 with an assist from
Felix Blick (Linkoping, Sweden/Katedralskolan) for a four-goal edge.
Doyea connected with Watson and Perry with 28:50 on the clock for a 5-0 lead.
Blake Hanson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) accounted for the final margin in the 84th minute with his third goal of the season, assisted by
James Bruce (Gladstone, Mich./Gladstone).
UWS outshot the Knights, 30-1, and 16-0 on target with MLC's only shot of the day from Joe Graumann coming with less than three minutes remaining in the match. Higgins made 10 saves for the Knights. The loss ends Martin Luther's season at 6-13-2.
Dalton VonKaenel (Eagan, Minn./Eagan) and
Ulrik Lager (Vollen, Norway/Asker VGS) split time in the UWS nets, with VonKaenel earning the win, playing the first 77 minutes.
The victory keeps the 'Jackets unbeaten at home in 19 consecutive matches (17-0-2) dating to 2018.
