MENOMONIE, Wis. — UW-Eau Claire defeated UW-Stout Polytechnic 3-2 on Saturday at Nelson Field. The Blugolds finished with a 24-5 shot advantage and a 14-0 edge in corner kicks. The Blugolds scored twice in the first half and once in the second, while the Blue Devils scored both of its goals after halftime.
The Blugolds built a 2-0 halftime lead behind goals from
Tate McDermott in the 17th minute and
Kyron Pope in the 25th. Earlier, UW-Eau Claire worked through a stop-start opening stretch with six combined fouls by 10:08, earned corners at 3:42 and 13:42, and put a shot on goal from
Ramzi Ouro that was saved by Eddie Puglisi at 13:09. McDermott opened the scoring at 16:03, and after another UWEC corner at 24:25, Pope scored at 24:57 to extend the advantage. The Blugolds kept generating chances after the second goal, with
Baylor Denu, Thomas Slater and
Zach Sorensen adding shots and a late corner coming at 43:41 as the team finished the half with five corner kicks.
Protecting a 2-0 lead, UWEC created early second-half pressure with three corner kicks by 51:07 and an
Owen Backus shot at 51:50 before Stout Polytechnic answered with Sven Oberg's goal off an Alex Thayer assist at 57:49 to make it 2-1. The Blugolds kept pressing from there, recording six shots and two corners between 61:19 and 71:00, including saved attempts by
Henry Trettin, McDermott,
Colin Mandernach and Ouro, then adding seven more shots and three corners from 74:05 to 82:33.
Ashton Johnston scored in the 84th minute off assists from Ouro and McDermott, moving UWEC in front 3-1. Trey White scored for the Blue Devils at 85:19, but the Blugolds followed with late shots from McDermott and
Noah Malcook and finished the match with a 3-2 win.
McDermott scored and added an assist, finishing with team highs of six shots and three shots on goal. Johnston converted his lone shot and was credited with the game-winning goal. Pope also scored, putting one of his two shots on frame. Ouro recorded an assist and put two of his three shots on goal.
UW-Eau Claire moves to 7-3-5 overall and 1-1-2 in WIAC play. The Blue Devils fall to 5-8-3 overall and 0-4-0 in the WIAC.
Up next, the Blugolds travel to Decorah, Iowa, to face Luther College on Tuesday, Oct. 27. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Soccer Field.
Follow the Blugolds all season long at
Blugolds.com or on our app,
Blugold Sports, and on social media on
Twitter,
Instagram,
Facebook, and
TikTok.
