SUPERIOR, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's soccer was back on the road on Sunday as they faced off with UW-Superior in Northern Wisconsin. Despite playing with ten players for over 30 minutes, the Blugolds hung on and earned a 1-1 draw against the Yellowjackets.
 
Both squads played a very even first half as UWEC had the 5-4 edge in shots, but Superior found the edge in shots on target, 3-2. The Blugolds earned themselves four corners in the first half but could not find the back of the net. Sam Lynch (Sr. – Verona, Wis.) and Max Walters (Sr. – Madison, Wis./Madison Memorial) found the two best chances of the opening 45 minutes for Eau Claire, but both defenses stood strong as the squads went into halftime tied at 0-0.
 
The second half began with more physicality by both sides and the intensity increased. An unfortunate situation for the Blugolds in the 56th minute dropped UWEC down to ten men for the remainder of the game after a red card was assessed to Eau Claire goalkeeper Spencer Banks (Jr. – Superior, Wis.) for handling the ball outside the box with his hands. Despite the numbers disadvantage, UW-Eau Claire answered promptly as Carter Theisfeld (Jr. – Forest Lake, Minn.) found the contents first goal at 58:42 to give the Blugolds their first lead of the evening. The unassisted tally by Theisfeld was his second of the year.
 
UW-Eau Claire more than tripled their shots on goal in the second half as Nathan Donovan (Jr. – Hazel Green, Wis./Wahlert Catholic) and Noah Malcook (Fr. – Fitchburg, Wis./Oregon) found chances at the net but could not beat the Yellowjacket keeper. With less than 15 minutes remaining, UW-Superior found their equalizer to tie the game at 1-1. The even scoreline lasted for the remainder of the contest as neither side found a game winner and played to a draw.
 
Spencer Banks (Jr. – Superior, Wis.) stopped all four shots he faced before he exited the match. Mark Belknap (Jr. – Anoka, Minn.) stopped three of the four shots he faced and earned the draw for Eau Claire. Belknap is now 0-0-1 on the year.
 
The Blugolds (1-0-1) will continue their road trip on Wednesday, September 6^th when they travel to Macalester College. Kickoff against the Scots is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.