SUPERIOR, Wis. -- The UW-Superior men's soccer team scored three times before halftime and held on to win its sixth consecutive Upper Midwest Athletic Conference tournament title, 3-0, over Bethany Lutheran at NBC Spartan Sports Complex on Saturday.
With the victory, the third consecutive over the Vikings in the league championship match, the Yellowjackets earn the UMAC's automatic qualification into the NCAA Division III championship for a fifth straight time and will learn of their first-round opponent Monday at 12:30 p.m., CT on NCAA.com. The win also gives UWS a measure of revenge against BLC, which handed Superior's its only conference loss of the season on Oct. 15, 1-0, in Mankato, Minn.
UWS (16-3-2) wasted little time taking the lead in the sixth minute when Vikings' goalkeeper Nick Lundberg took a bad touch and senior
Blake Perry (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) stole the ball. Perry slide it to
Phillip Eriksen (Skjetten, Norway/Lorenskog), whose low shot bet Lundberg for the junior's 13th of the season.
Perry made it 2-0 in the 22nd minute as he was the recipient of a pass after long run from freshman
Freddy Watson (Wendover, England/Berkshire College of Agriculture), who took a throw-in on the far side and sprinted into the box. Watson, weaving through traffic, found Perry with an interior feed that he sent past Lundburg for his 15th of the year.
Freshman
Jake Kidd (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) made it 3-0 when he headed a bouncing ball off of a long throw into the box into the net for his 10th goal.
The Yellowjackets played much of the second half down a man when freshman
Isaac Becket (Surrey, England/The Sixth Form College Farnborough) took a pair of yellow cards in quick succession. UWS, though, played smart defensively until Bethany's Liam Hanson drew his second caution of the match to be sent off himself in the 76th minute.
Sophomore
Alex Paredes (Mequon, Wis./Homestead) made three saves for his seventh clean sheet of the season, improving to 15-2-2 on the season. Lundberg stopped four shots, falling to 9-3-0.
Yellowjackets outshot BLC, 17-10, on the day and had eight of the nine corner kicks.
Perry earned tournament MVP honors with two goals and two assists in the two matches.
Bethany Lutheran ends the season with a 15-4-3 overall record.
