SUPERIOR, Wis. – Since joining the UMAC in 2015, the Yellowjacket men's soccer team has been a fixture in the UMAC playoff championship, having played for the conference title and the right to go to the NCAA Tournament in every season.
 
But success didn't come right away.
 
In 2015, the Yellowjackets fell to St. Scholastica. In 2016, the 'Jackets tied the Saints, but lost the match on penalty kicks. The teams met again in 2017 and again were tied after regulation and two overtimes, but this time it was the Yellowjackets who advanced via penalty kicks.

And the 'Jackets claimed the UMAC title and the conference's NCAA automatic qualifier every year since.
 
They'll have the chance to play for the title and the AQ again in 2021, as the Yellowjackets advanced to the UMAC championship for the seventh straight season in a row following Wednesday's 5-1 victory over Northwestern on a chilly evening at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex.
 
The Yellowjackets (15-6-0, 13-1-0 UMAC), who have won ten straight, will face Bethany Lutheran College in the final, the team they shared the 2021 UMAC regular season championship with.
 
Wednesday the Yellowjackets didn't waste any time putting Northwestern in the rearview mirror.
 
Less than five minutes into the match, Blake Perry (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) opened the scoring, taking a feed from Protus Babaya (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) and hammering a shot high into the center of the goal to make it 1-0. It was the 19th goal of the season for the man who wears jersey No. 19.
 
In the 25th minute the Yellowjackets extended the lead. Brandon Conklin (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) started the play with a corner kick. Harry Ambler (Reading, England/Little Heath School) was on the other end of the kick and sent a header toward the goal before Scott Wilson (Ladybank, Scotland/Bell Baxter) finished the play, netting his third goal of the season to make it 2-0.
 
Early in the second half the 'Jackets scored again when Dylan Hanegraaf (Rose Creek, Minn./Austin) set up Nicolai Stokker (Klokkarstua, Norway/St. Hallvard), and the sophomore made no mistake, directing a shot into the lower left corner to push the score to 3-0. The goal continues a hot streak for Stokker, who now has goals in three straight and has five goals over his last five matches.
 
Less than four minutes later the Yellowjackets struck again, with a pair of Blakes doing the damage. Perry moved the ball to the middle of the field for Blake Doyea (Ramsey, Minn./Anoka), and the senior scored his eighth of the season, finding the lower left corner to make it 4-0.
 
Perry and Doyea, or Blake Squared would add to the lead in the 76th minute, with Doyea picking up his second of the match and ninth of the year to increase the Yellowjacket advantage to 5-0. Conklin also picked up an assist on the play.
 
It looked like the Yellowjackets would finish off another shutout, but the Eagles broke through with just over four minutes to play, making the final score 5-1.
 
The Yellowjackets outshot Northwestern 14-12, and doubled the Eagles up in shots on goal, 10-5.

Alex Paredes (Mequon, Wis./Homestead) started in goal and earned the win, finishing with four saves to move to 15-4-0 on the year.
 
The Yellowjackets and Bethany Lutheran will meet in the conference final, and it will be the third meeting of the season between the two clubs. Bethany Lutheran defeated the Yellowjackets 2-1 in overtime Sept. 24. The Yellowjackets returned the favor with a 1-0 win at Bethany Lutheran Oct. 16.
 
The 2021 UMAC Championship match will get underway at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6 at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex.