EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — UW-Eau Claire defeated UW-Stout Polytechnic 5-0 on Wednesday at Simpson Field in the First Round of the WIAC Tournament. The Blugolds outshot the Blue Devils 24-5, put nine shots on goal and limited UWS to three shots on goal in the shutout. UWEC scored once in the first half before adding four goals after halftime, finishing the second half with 13 shots and six corner kicks.
Colin Mandernach put UW-Eau Claire in front at 1:27, finishing off assists from
Noah Malcook and
Owen Backus for a 1-0 lead. After the Blue Devils earned an early corner and Jack Poole sent a shot high, the Blugolds built pressure with attempts from
Tommy Slater and
Tate McDermott before a stretch from 18:33 to 25:49 that included six shots and three corners, with Eddie Puglisi saving Malcook's try at 23:10. UW-Stout generated a later chance when
Payton Douglas saved Odyn Peterson's shot at 35:40, and UW-Eau Claire answered with a corner and Alek LaRoi shot before the half closed with the Blugolds ahead 1-0.
Luis Marquez Sedano pushed the Blugolds ahead 2-0 at 47:59, and the home side kept pressing with corner kicks at 48:46 and 49:48 before Mandernach put a shot on frame and
Kyron Pope sent an attempt wide. UW-Eau Claire generated another set-piece stretch after the hour, earning corners at 61:23 and 63:53 around a
Ramzi Ouro shot.
Elijah Post scored at 68:03 off assists from
Henry Trettin and
Carmelo Kasim to make it 3-0. After Ferner had a shot blocked and the Blugolds earned a corner at 74:21,
Mason McKnight finished off Post's assist at 74:49 for a 4-0 lead, and Ferner scored from
Tobias Volkmann at 79:46 to make it 5-0. UW-Eau Claire added late attempts from Ferner and
Aiden Judickas, while the Blue Devils put two late shots on frame that
Alex Cernea saved as the Blugolds closed out the 5-0 win.
The Blugolds move to 9-3-6 overall and 2-1-2 in the WIAC. UW-Stout Polytechnic ends their season at 6-10-3 overall and 0-5-0 in WIAC play.
Up next, the Blugolds advance to the WIAC Semifinals where they will travel to UW-Whitewater to play the two-seeded Warhawks on Friday, November 6 at 7 p.m.
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