On Oct.11 at Simpson Field, UW-Eau Claire men’s soccer shut out the UW-River Falls Falcons, winning 4-0. With this win, the Blugolds are officially 8-2-2.

The first goal was scored by forward Noah Malcook about 22 minutes into the first half. Malcook’s goal was assisted by forward Owen Williams and midfielder Tate McDermott.

Midfielder Carson Kowalski scored the second goal for the Blugolds 20 minutes after the first goal, about 43 minutes into the first half. His goal was assisted by midfielder Alvaro Alanis.

 Kowalski, a fourth-year marketing student, said even when winning, the pep talk during halftime emphasized the importance of not letting the other team get a score.

“2-0 is like a dangerous score. Getting the third goal before they get their first is super important,” Kowalski said. “Matching the level that the other team’s going to bring, knowing that they’re going to come out of halftime with a lot of energy, and just match the energy, and then just going from there.”

Second-year rehab science student and goalkeeper Charlie Mroz said coming out of halftime up 2-0, it is important to keep energy up and match what the other team is going to bring for the second half. 

“Bringing a lot of energy and making sure that we’re working harder than them so that they can’t get that first goal in the second half,” Mroz said.

In the second half of the game, McDermott scored a goal for the Blugolds. Malcook and Kowalski assisted with the goal.

Shortly after, Kowalski scored his second goal of the game. McDermott also assisted the goal for the second time in the game.

Kowalski said the most important thing when playing a game is to stay focused. 

“The most important thing is just keeping a zero on the scoreboard,” Kowalski said. “Not letting teams hang around, just making sure we’re putting teams away when we should.”

Assistant Coach Jared Nunez said a highlight for him during the game was having a 4-0 shutout. 

“4-0, clean sheet and everybody on the roster got minutes, so I think that was great,” Nunez said.

Kowalski said part of what he likes most about playing soccer at the collegiate level is the team.

“Being able to create these relationships with other people on and off the field, so having all these friends that you can rely on whenever you need,” Kowalski said.

Previously, the Blugolds had some close games, with scores like 2-1, 3-0 and 1-1.

Mroz said that for their next games going forward, they need to work on following through with their chances. 

“In the past, we’ve been creating a lot of chances but struggling to finish them,” Mroz said. “Just continuing to work off of how we did today.”

The Blugolds’ next game will be at 7 p.m. on Oct. 17 at UW-Platteville Pioneers. 

More information on the team’s schedule can be found at Blugold Athletics. 

Boggess can be reached at [email protected].