SUPERIOR, Wis. – The Yellowjacket men's soccer team are getting quite comfortable with their new home turf. Last Saturday the 'Jackets exploded with eight goals in their first match at the newly built Superior Choice Credit Union (SCCU) Stadium, defeating Minnesota Morris 8-1. After hitting the road to face No. 6 Gustavus Adolphus Sunday, UW-Superior returned home to take on Northwestern in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play.
 
Historically UWS has dominated conference play, and the 2024 campaign is no different. Entering Wednesday's match the Yellowjackets have scored a barrage of goals, 48 to be exact. Another facet of their game has been a consistent display of lockdown defense, allowing just one goal off a penalty kick in eight UMAC matches.
 
This balanced attack was on display once again Wednesday, as the Yellowjackets found the back of the net six times to defeat the Eagles 6-0.
 
Match Notes

• Superior's own Jake Kidd (Superior, Wis./Superior) nearly got the scoring started just 70 seconds into the match, but Eagles goalkeeper Michael Machuca stood his ground and made the early save. The junior rifled another shot at Machuca after taking a feed from Josh Bellamy (High Wycombe, England/FAB Football Academy) and Freddy Watson (Wendover, England/Berkshire College of Agriculture) in the third minute of play and it found the back of the net.
• A few minutes later, Freddy Watson (Wendover, England/Berkshire College of Agriculture) aimed for the bottom left corner of the net, but Machuca came up with a save. At the tenth minute of play, Watson notched his fifth goal of the season after receiving a pass from Felipe Oliveira (Belo Horizonte, Brazil/Colegio Soma), extending the Yellowjackets' lead to 2-0.
• The goals kept coming for UWS, as Bellamy sauced a pass to Kidd to bury his second of the match at the 17th minute of play, giving the 'Jackets a 3-0 advantage.
• Kidd wasn't done, however, as he sent a shot past Machuca at the 25th minute of play to secure the third hat trick of his collegiate career.
• Yellowjacket head coach Joe Mooney began to turn to his bench after this goal. One of those players to enter the match was Nicolai Stokker (Klokkarstua, Norway/St. Hallvard), and he made his presence felt in the 41st minute. He took feeds from Orlando Fertleman (London, England/Aldenham) and Kyle Massingham (Nuneaton, England/Future Pro College) to card his third of the campaign and fifth for the Yellowjackets, triggering the Five Goal Free for All from Culver's in Superior.
• The final blow of the night came at the 51st minute of action, seeing Watson send the ball to Zach Tiemeyer (Waunakee, Wis./Waunakee Community) for his third of the year, giving UWS a 6-0 lead.
• Alex Paredes (Mequon, Wis./Homestead) got the start on the evening, as he made one save before giving way to Carter Lansdale (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) in the 66th minute of play. Lansdale finished his shift with two saves.
• UW-Superior outshot Northwestern 27-5, with shots on goal at 18-3.
• Machuca for UNW made seven saves on the night before giving way to Jonathan Orlowski, who made three saves in 33 minutes of action.
• 29 different Yellowjackets took the field in Wednesday's match.
• The Yellowjackets have now scored 54 goals while allowing just one against UMAC competitors.

 
The Yellowjackets stay at home to host Bethany Lutheran in a crucial conference match. The opening kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Superior Choice Credit Union Stadium.
  Read Full Article