UW-Eau Claire men鈥檚 soccer team earns first NCAA tournament win
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men’s soccer team played the first NCAA Regional Tournament game in the history and came away with a victory.
UW-Eau聽Claire聽faced off against the Luther College Norse on the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College in November, winning 3-1 following a fast start and a defensive hold.
UW-Eau聽Claire聽wasted no time finding their first tournament goal as sophomore Carter Thiesfeld聽rifled the ball into the top corner in the second minute of play. Luther answered in less than 60 seconds on a loose ball inside the penalty area to tie the game at 1-1.
The physicality of postseason play was apparent early and often as two of the five Luther yellow cards were dealt in the first 25 minutes of play. A match total of 24 fouls between the two squads created set pieces in opportune areas for the Blugolds and Norse.
In the 23rd聽minute, sophomore Nathan Donovan聽extended聽Eau聽Claire’s lead with a header from the far side of the net off a cross from teammate Max Walters. The Blugolds chose quality offense over quantity in the first half with all three of their shots taken being on frame. The defense kept the Norse to just one shot on goal and retained their 2-1 lead into halftime.
The second half saw more chances for聽Eau聽Claire聽as the tallied six of their nine total shots in the second frame. Donovan and Thiesfeld led the offense with two shots on goal each. Four more yellow cards were dealt in the second half as Luther recorded three and聽Eau聽Claire聽received one late for a delay of game.
In the closing minutes of play,聽Donovan聽sealed the win on a counterattack in the 88th聽minute as he tipped the ball past the Norse goalkeeper and tapped in his second goal of the afternoon and 21st聽of the season to extend the Blugold lead to 3-1.聽Thiesfeld聽received the lone assist on the final goal.
Sophomore Spencer Banks聽stopped four of the five shots he faced to earn his first career聽NCAA聽postseason win. Banks now holds a record of 15-2 on the season.
The Blugolds season ended the following day in a double overtime loss to host Gustavus Adolphus on penalty kicks.
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