On Oct. 30 at UW-Stevens Point Turf Facilities, UW-Eau Claire men’s soccer faced the UW-Stevens Point Pointers to close out the regular season. The team secured a 3-0 win, leaving the Blugolds with a 10-2-4 overall record.
The victory gave the Blugolds a chance to claim at least part of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) regular season title as well as securing the top seed in the conference postseason tournament.
Going into the match, Head Coach Casey Holm said the team established a solid game plan.
“Our back line does a really good job keeping the ball and playing a man mark system,” Holm said. “We always found the one open guy and executed our plays out of that.”
In the first half, both teams tested the opposing defense with the Blugolds pressing to establish the upper hand. Second-year Charlie Mroz made a key save, which kept the game level at 0-0.
Second-year Tate McDermott and fourth-year Owen Williams each attempted to secure UW-Eau Claire goals, while third-year Noah Malcook and second-year Alvaro Alanis added on to the offensive pressure towards the end of the half.
Throughout the first half, there were five shots taken to obtain a goal.
While several fouls were issued for the two teams, neither side managed to make a goal. The period ended with the score tied. Malcook said that the beginning of the second half is when the team really started to click.
“In the first half, there was a struggle to create opportunities,” Malcook said. “Usually in the second half, we are unable to come out hard, but we had our foot on the pedal right away.”
In the 47th minute of the second half, fourth-year Ramzi Ouro scored, assisted by McDermott and Malcook. The Blugolds maintained the offensive pressure and were able to gain another goal from Ouro in the 62nd minute, assisted by third-year Alek Laroi and fourth-year Carson Kowalski.
The Blugolds overcame defensive fouls and seized on offensive momentum after Pointers player Devin Wilkerson received a red card.
“I am proud of how our guys kept our heads,” Malcook said. “There were conflicts throughout the game, and we kept our cool.”
Throughout the second half, the Blugolds maintained control of the field. Ouro scored his third goal in the 85th minute, assisted by first-year Aiden Judickas, which completed his hat trick.
Despite the Pointers best efforts, they were unable to score due to the Blugolds’ strong offensive pressure. The match concluded with a 3-0 victory.
With the win, the Blugolds’ conference record stands at 4-0-1, while the Pointers fell to 2-2-1 in conference play.
In their last two games, the Blugolds are 1-1. During the Blugolds match against UW-Whitewater, the team only managed to score one goal, which led them to tie.
“Three goals is different from what we are used to,” Malcook said. “We are used to getting one or two — being able to get three goals in the back of the net is important for momentum.”
In 2024, the team had the best season in the history of the program, playing in the national quarterfinals for the first time. Holm said the team wants to add onto their past success and take steps to succeed in the playoffs.
“We have the next couple of days off, so we want the players to rest up and get healthy,” Holm said. “Once we get back to practice, we will get ready for the playoffs with an emphasis on our face play and set pieces.”
On Thursday, Nov. 6, The Blugolds will host the semifinal round of the WIAC Championship at Simpson Field. Kickoff time and their opponent have not yet been announced.
Hinz can be reached at [email protected]
