SUPERIOR, Wis. – After more than two-plus weeks on the road, the Yellowjacket men's soccer team finally returned home Tuesday. Since the Sept. 2 season opener against UW-Eau Claire, the Yellowjackets have been playing away from home, and along the way compiled a 2-1-1 mark.
 
Tuesday also marked the opening of the home Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) season for the 'Jackets, as they played host to Northwestern at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex.
 
A quick look at the statistics would lead you to believe that the Yellowjackets won the contest going away, but that was far from the case. Northwestern kept things close throughout, but in the end the Yellowjackets were too much, picking up their first home win of the season, 2-1 over the Eagles.
 
The Yellowjackets (3-1-2, 3-0-0 UMAC) have now won three games in a row, with all of them coming in conference play.
 
Early in the match Tuesday the Yellowjackets owned a major territorial advantage, but they found the going tough against the Northwestern defense. In the 21st minute Josh Bellamy (High Wycombe, England/FAB Football Academy) had a strong strike from the left of the box that found the back of the net, but the goal was waved off after the Yellowjackets were called offside.
 
A minute later, however, Bellamy found the back of the net and this time it counted. Off a set piece, Bellamy put the ball home for his first goal of the year, putting the Yellowjackets in front in the 22nd minute.

The lead didn't last long, however.
 
Northwestern took advantage of a Yellowjacket defensive miscue and Teddy Hall scored, tying it at 1-1 just over two minutes later.

It stayed that way into halftime, but shortly after the break the Yellowjackets broke the tie.
 
In the 56th minute, Freddy Watson (Wendover, England/Berkshire College of Agriculture) put a shot into the lower right corner of the goal, giving him his team-leading third tally of the season, and putting the Yellowjackets in front 2-1. Harry Ambler (Reading, England/Little Heath School) assisted on the goal.
 
As they did for the entire match, the Yellowjackets controlled the play the rest of the way, but they were unable to convert any more of their scoring chances.

For the match, the Yellowjackets held a 28-3 edge in shots attempted while registering 13 shots on goal to just one for the Eagles. The Yellowjackets also took all nine of the matches corner kicks.

Alex Paredes (Mequon, Wis./Homestead) made his sixth-straight start in goal for the Yellowjackets in this one and finished without a save. His record on the year improves to 3-1-2.
 
It will be a quick turnaround for the Yellowjackets, as they host Augsburg in non-conference action Wednesday. The opening kick is set for 7 p.m. at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex.