Yellowjackets Fall to Macalester

NSO NEWS – RELEASE

UPERIOR, Wis. – It’s been a pretty good run of late for the Yellowjacket men’s soccer team.

Since dropping a match at home to Bethany Lutheran Sept. 24, the Yellowjackets have been on a tear, winning seven matches in a row, with the last six coming via shutouts. During the streak, the Yellowjackets outscored the opposition by a 37-2.

The competition got a little stiffer for the ‘Jackets Tuesday, with MIAC foe Macalester coming to town. The Yellowjackets and the Scots have been longtime competitors despite living in different conferences, and typically the matchup is one of the better ones on the schedule.

Tuesday’s match followed that same pattern, but unfortunately for the Yellowjackets, both the shutout streak and the win streak came to an end.

Macalester scored twice in the second half and that was enough, as the Scots defeated the Yellowjackets 3-1 under the lights at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex.

After play Tuesday, the Yellowjackets now stand 11-3-2 overall and 9-1-0 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC).

Macalester scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 24th minute. Following a Yellowjacket foul, Macalester was awarded a free kick deep in Yellowjacket territory, and Elijah Edelman made the most of it, beating Yellowjacket goalkeeper Alex Paredes (Mequon, Wis./Homestead) up high to make it 1-0. The goal snapped the Yellowjacket shutout streak at 577:26.

It stayed that way until late in the half, when a defensive miscue cost the Yellowjackets. With just under two minutes to play in the half, a ball got past Paredes near the top of the box, and Nathan Corbett stayed with it, booting it into the yawning goal, extending the Scots’ lead to 2-0.

As the second half unfolded, a lot of the play came between the 18s, and shots for both teams were at a premium. It took until the 86th minute for the Yellowjackets to get their first shot on goal of the night, and then a minute later they finally broke through.

Mackie Ringrose (Ewhurst, England/St. Peter’s Catholic School) worked the ball down the right side, got to a sharp angle and sent the ball with the right foot toward the goal, where it went off the Macalester goalkeeper and in to pull the Yellowjackets to within a goal. For Ringrose, it was his second goal of the year.

The hope the Yellowjackets got from the goal was short-lived, however, as Chris Frantz added another goal for the Scots just a minute later, making the final score 6-3.

The teams combined for just 11 shots attempted in the defensive battle. The Scots attempted seven to four for the Yellowjackets. Shots on goal were 3-1 Macalester.

Paredes started in goal for the Yellowjackets and played the first 58 minutes before giving way to Patrick Sessions (Brighton, England/Brighton, Hove & Sussex Sixth Form College) who played the final 32 minutes.

It will be a quick turnaround for the Yellowjackets, as they return to UMAC play Wednesday. The Yellowjackets will host North Central at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex. The opening kick-off is set for 7 p.m.