The Blugold men’s soccer team clinched yet another home victory Saturday, continuing its perfect home record. 

The match against Saint Mary’s University was held on home turf at Simpson Field, which was added to the UW-Eau Claire campus in 2020.

Kickoff was at 6 p.m. and the Blugolds started out with strong possession, keeping the ball in front of the Cardinals’ keeper. The Blugolds’ first shot on goal came in only 38 seconds into the match.

The team is young, both as a program in its first year and in regards to the age of the players — all but five are first-year students at UW-Eau Claire. While they have not had years together, the team said their on-field communication is a huge asset to their success. 

Will Heinen, a first-year forward, said being around each other day and night is what really contributes to that teamwork.“We eat breakfast together, we eat lunch together, we eat dinner together every day,” Heinen said. “Just being around each other all the time is what gives us that communication.”

Being a young, new team is no issue for Casey Holm, the Blugolds’ head coach.

“They’re all really bought in, and they’re really excited to grow this and build this with us,” Holm said. “It’s worked out quite well.”

The Blugolds showed that excitement, tallying three more shots before midfielder Drew Jeffers netted his first goal of the season at 17:38. Jeffers also tallied up his first yellow card of the season in the 31st minute of the match.

The Cardinal offense didn’t see much action in the first half, and the Blugolds held tight to that 1-0 lead for the rest of the half.

The Blugolds mirrored the first half, scoring quickly. Forward Nathan Donovan drove a through to Will Heinen who placed the ball in the back post, scoring the second goal of the game and his fourth of the season. 

The Cardinals responded about 10 minutes later to even out the score with two goals scored in the 76th and 79th minutes. 

The second half saw some more yellow, with Blugold defender Max Walters receiving a card at  79:23, and Cardinals R.J. Vazquez and Lucas de Godoy received cards at 55:02 and 80:09, respectively.

The game was in a 2-2 deadlock with a lot of gameplay until the 85th minute when a St. Mary’s foul resulted in a UW-Eau Claire free kick. This proved fruitful for the Blugolds, as Carter Theisfeld was able to break the ball away from the commotion at the goal and place it in the net, clinching a non-conference win for the Blugolds. 

“It’s always a good feeling scoring a goal,” Theisfeld said, “but any goal is a team effort.”

This win came on the tails of Wednesday’s 4-0 home shutout against Ripon College, where Theisfeld scored a goal five minutes in. 

The Blugolds are now 6-2-0 in their first season as a team. 

The Blugolds have a week off before hosting the Augsburg Auggies at 7 p.m. on Oct. 5 at Simpson Field.

Kelley can be reached at [email protected].