This past weekend, Nov. 15-16, UW-Eau Claire men’s soccer competed in the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championships at Macalester Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota.
In the opening round on Saturday, Nov. 15 against the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) Raiders, the Blugolds secured a 3-1 victory.
The teams were still tied 0-0 by the beginning of the second half, until fourth-year midfielder Carson Kowalski scored in the 56th minute and second-year midfielder Tate McDermott scored twice in the 58th and 82nd minute. The Raiders managed a single goal in the last minute, but the Blugolds held their lead until the end.
Throughout the game, the Blugolds had a total of 14 shots while their defense limited MSOE to eight. Second-year goalkeeper Charlie Mroz was responsible for the Blugolds’ three saves.
“We played (MSOE) earlier in the year, and we had a good look at them and figured out what we actually had to do,” Mroz said. “One of our main things was to force them out wide and not let them come inside, which could be dangerous, and we did a great job of executing that as a team.”
Head Coach Casey Holm said the team spent all week preparing to defend against MSOE’s 4-2-3-1 formation, and he is proud of the Blugolds for scoring on the set pieces they’d been practicing.
“I thought the other team did a good job defending in their first half and keeping 0-0, but in the second half once we scored, it was pretty wide open after that,” Holm said.
The win gave them a 13-2-4 season record, and the Blugolds qualified to play again the next day, Sunday, Nov. 16, against the Macalester College Scots at Macalester Stadium for the second round of the tournament.
Similar to the day before, the first half of the game remained level at 0-0. McDermott and fourth-year forward Ramzi Ouro both attempted shots, but they did not fall in the Blugolds’ favor.
In the 62nd minute of the second half, Macalester scored a penalty kick goal. Shortly after in the 64th minute, McDermott scored for the Blugolds, tying the game 1-1.
Ouro and third-year defensive player Elijah Post both attempted shots throughout the rest of the second half, but only the Scots were able to find the back of the net. Macalester took the lead in the 81st minute and maintained it until the game resulted in a 2-1 loss for the Blugolds.
Mroz played a full 90 minutes as goalkeeper with two saves.
“We left our hearts out there and played with everything we had,” Mroz said. “We just played as a team, communicated with each other and brought a lot of energy … I’m very proud of how it ended. I obviously wanted to go farther, but we had a great season and a great group of guys.”
The Blugolds’ season has ended with a 13-3-4 overall record. Holm said the team will now have a little time to “decompress” before they start their spring training in February.
Mroz said they will celebrate the end of the season by enjoying the time they have left with their graduating seniors.
“We’ll just get together … connect with them and keep in touch and build up and get ready for next year, too,” Mroz said.
Matczak can be reached at [email protected].
