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Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

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Heartbreaker for UWS Men's Soccer

09/06/2016, 8:00am CDT
By Matt Johnson

Coming off a 1-0 overtime loss to No. 20 Macalester in their season opener, the UW-Superior men’s soccer team was more than happy to return home and face Bethel for their 2016 home opener Monday afternoon.

Unfortunately for the Yellowjackets, recent history repeated as the Royals got a goal from Josh de la Rosa with just four seconds remaining in the first overtime session to hand coach Joe Mooney’s side a second consecutive 1-0 overtime loss in their season debut on the Ifan Sports Network.

The Yellowjackets fell despite controlling the action for the majority of the afternoon, including holding a 23-8 edge in shot attempts. But Royals goal-tender Jakob Bartels proved up the challenge, posting 13 saves to pick up the shut out at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex.

UW-Superior dominated the opening 45 minutes, racking up an 11-3 advantage in shots in the first half. But Bartels served notice from the outset, stopping a Yellowjacket penalty kick in the 21st minute to keep the game scoreless heading into halftime.

The Yellowjackets continued to turn up the heat in the second half despite receiving a red-card in the 66th minute that forced UW-Superior to play a man down for the remainder of regulation and overtime.

For the half, UW-Superior held a 12-4 edge in attempts, including a 9-2 advantage in shots in goal. Bartels stood tall however, turning away multiple Yellowjacket scoring chances over the final 24 minutes to send the contest into extra time.

In overtime, Bethel’s Brandon Martinez's throw in found de la Rosa with a long pass up the right sideline before the sophomore forward held off a Yellowjacket defender and fired a shot that beat UW-Superior goal tender Ben Wilhelm just under the right-side cross-bar to provide the winning margin.

The Yellowjackets were led offensively by Gio Rodriguez, who posted a game-high five shots with three attempts on target. Jon Bucklew added three shots while Danny Kearns and James Menzies each had two attempts for UW-Superior. Wilhelm finished with three stops to take the loss in goal.

Bethel improved to 2-1 in 2016 with the victory.

UW-Superior is back in action this weekend when they head to Moorhead, Minn. to face Concordia-Moorhead for a 1 p.m. contest Friday afternoon before taking on Simpson (Iowa) in a 1 p.m. game Saturday.

The Yellowjackets will next appear on the Ifan Sports Network on Sept. 21 when they take on border rivals St. Scholastica. Opening kickoff against the Saints is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. with pregame programming beginning at about 4:05 from the Yellowjacket Soccer Complex.

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