EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — UW-Eau Claire won 5-2 over MSOE on Tuesday at Simpson Field in the Blugolds season opener. After a scoreless first half, the Blugolds scored all five of their goals in the second half while MSOE added two. UW-Eau Claire finished with a 17-9 advantage in shots and put seven attempts on goal.
The Blugolds opened the first half with an early corner and four shots in the first seven minutes, including
Noah Malcook's saved attempt in the second minute and additional chances from
Baylor Denu,
Luis Marquez Sedano, and
Ramzi Ouro. MSOE answered with pressure through the middle of the half, but
Charlie Mroz made saves on Lachlan Ladd in the 14th minute and Juan Pablo Escobar in the 25th to keep the match scoreless. The half turned more physical late, with multiple fouls and an MSOE yellow card before
Zach Sorensen put a shot toward goal in the 44th minute, and the Blugolds went into halftime tied 0-0.
UW-Eau Claire took a 2-0 lead with Denu scoring off an
Alek Laroi assist at 45:52 and Laroi converting a penalty kick at 64:02. MSOE then scored back-to-back goals at 70:06 and 70:29 to tie the match at 2-2.The Blugolds moved back in front on an own goal at 74:59. After the go-ahead goal,
Tobias Volkmann scored off assists from
Andrew Phillips and LaRoi at 82:46, and Ouro finished Pope's setup at 86:41 to close the scoring. This offensive surge, highlighted by Laroi's pivotal role, secured the victory at 5-2 Blugolds.
Laroi recorded a goal and two assists for four points while putting one of his two shots on goal. Denu scored on one of his two shots and was credited with the first goal. Ouro added a goal and led UW-Eau Claire with three shots. Mroz played all 90 minutes in goal and finished with five saves. The Blugolds outshot the Raiders 17-9 and 7-6 with shots on goal. The highly physical game saw MSOE tally three yellow cards to UW-Eau Claire's one.
UW-Eau Claire moves to 1-0 overall while MSOE falls to 0-1 overall.
Up next, the Blugolds host University of Wisconsin-Superior on Friday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. at Simpson Field in Eau Claire, Wis.
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