UWS Men Fall Late

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

For nearly 89 minutes of play Saturday afternoon, the UW-Superior men’s soccer team fought to a scoreless draw with No. 9 Luther College. Unfortunately for the Yellowjackets, 72 seconds was all it took for the Norse to breakthrough and hand UW-Superior a disappointing loss.

J.W. Slauson’s tally with just 1:12 left in regulation stunned UW-Superior and gave Luther a 1-0 win in their non-conference contest at Yellowjacket Field.

The loss came despite a strong defensive effort in which Yellowjacket goal tender Zach Harwerth (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) made five saves, three of which came in the second half.

Neither team created many scoring chances in the first half as the two teams finished with three shots apiece in the opening 45 minutes of action.

Luther increased their pressure in the second half, nearly scoring the game’s first goal when Josh Parris’ shot from the right-side bounded off the left-side post 20 minutes into the final stanza.

UW-Superior responded with an apparent tally by senior Ben Kasper (Eagan, Minn./Eagan) that was waved-off due an offsides call with 25 minutes left in regulation.

The Yellowjackets nearly scored again 10 minutes later when Chase Carey (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) and Gio Rodriguez (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Los Osos) combined on a skillful, two-way passing play that resulted in Rodriguez’s shot from the right barely missing the top corner to keep matters scoreless with just over 15 minutes remaining in the second half.

Luther finally broke through with 1:12 left when a quick counter-attack allowed Jon Gednalske to find Slauson at the near-side post.  Slauson’s resulting right-footed chip eluded Harwerth and found the side netting, giving the Norse a 1-0 lead at 88:48.

UW-Superior couldn’t mount any offense in the last minute to fall to 5-3 on the season while Luther improved to 6-0 with the victory.

For the game, Luther held a 15-9 edge in shots and a 6-4 advantage in shots on goal.

Rodriguez had five of UW-Superior’s nine shots while the Norse were led by Slauson with five shots while Lucas Beato had four.

Blaise Schaeffer picked up the win in goal for Luther with two saves after relieving starter Peter Wright at halftime.

The Yellowjackets hit the road to face Hamline on Thursday.  Opening kickoff against the Pipers is scheduled for 4 p.m.