SUPERIOR, Wis. – The Yellowjacket men's soccer team entered the final home weekend of its 2021 season sitting in a first-place tie with Bethany Lutheran. In the race for the top seed in the conference post-season, the Yellowjackets and Vikings are already down to the third tiebreaker.
 
In the first tiebreaker, head-to-head competition, the teams are tied. In the second tiebreaker, goal differential between the two teams, they are tied. The third tiebreaker is goal differential in all conference matches, with a maximum of a four-goal margin per contest. In other words, putting a large amount of goals on the board is of utmost importance for the Yellowjackets in their quest to claim the conference crown.
 
They did everything they needed and then some Friday, scoring early and often on the way to a 7-0 whitewashing of North Central at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex.
 
The win was the sixth in a row for the Yellowjackets, who are now 11-6-0 overall and 10-1-0 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
 
It didn't take long for the Yellowjackets to get things rolling Friday, as Karsten Kletti (Vadnais Heights, Minn./White Bear Lake Area) broke the ice with a shot from the right side of the box into the lower right corner to make it 1-0 in the sixth minute. It's the second straight match Kletti scored the first goal for the Yellowjackets.
 
Josh Bellamy (High Wycombe, England/FAB Football Academy) extended the lead in the 14th minute, drilling a shot from 25 yards out high over the extended arm of the North Central goalkeeper to make it 2-0. It was the fifth goal of the year for Bellamy.
 
A few minutes later, the Yellowjackets struck again. Phillip Eriksen (Skjetten, Norway/Lorenskog) scored his third goal in the last two matches, this time directing a shot into the lower right corner in the 18th minute to make it a three-goal game.
 
The 'Jackets found the net two more times before the end of the first half. Twice shots found the lower right corner, and both times, it was Nicolai Stokker (Klokkarstua, Norway/St. Hallvard) doing the scoring. The first goal came in the 31st minute, and the second in the 40th minute as the Yellowjackets took a 5-0 lead into halftime.
 
Yellowjacket scoring leader Blake Perry (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) gave the Yellowjackets a half dozen goals on the day, scoring his 11th of the year in the 68th minute. The Yellowjackets closed out the scoring with just over seven minutes to play when freshman Finley Purnell (Northampton, England/Southam College) scored his first collegiate goal, going uncovered in the box and having an easy tap in to make the final score 7-0.
 
In addition to his two goals, Stokker also posted a pair of assists to give him six points in the match. Perry also had a multi-point day, finishing with a goal and an assist.
 
It was a dominating offensive effort for the Yellowjackets, who outshot North Central 27-6 on the day. Shots on goal favored the Yellowjackets 12-3.
 
Alex Paredes (Mequon, Wis./Homestead) made the start in goal for the Yellowjackets and played the first half, finishing with one save. Payton Anderson (Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing) came on and played the second half, making two saves in the frame.
 
The Yellowjackets will close out the home portion of their 2021 regular season schedule Saturday when they host Northwestern. The opening kick is set for 4:30 p.m. at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex.