NORTHFIELD, Minn. — #17 UW-Eau Claire defeated Carleton 5-2 on Tuesday at Bell Field. The Blugolds scored four times in the second half and held the Knights scoreless after halftime to turn a one-goal halftime deficit into the road win. The Blugolds finished with 19 shots, including 12 on goal, while allowing five shots on goal.
The Blugolds answered a first-half deficit in the 16th minute, when
Owen Backus headed in
Oge Enwemnwa's long cross to tie the match at 1-1. The Knights had gone ahead at 1:05, but UW-Eau Claire created chances before and after the equalizer, including shots from
Tobias Volkmann,
Andrew Phillips,
Noah Malcook and
Tate McDermott.
Charlie Mroz helped keep the score level during a Knights push, saving Asher Burt's shot at 18:30 as the Blugolds got through five Knights attacking actions without conceding. The Knights moved back in front at 24:28, and UWEC continued to press with first-half chances from
Elijah Post and
Ramzi Ouro before going into halftime down 2-1.
In the second half, the Blugolds scored four times, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 road win against the Knights.
Kyron Pope equalized in the 49th minute after
Luis Marquez Sedano's shot was saved, and
Baylor Denu put UW-Eau Claire ahead less than three minutes later off a corner-kick sequence. The Blugolds kept pressure on with four corner kicks from 49:49 to 57:17, and Pope added another goal in the 58th minute off McDermott's assist to make it 4-2. The Knights generated chances after that, including a shot saved by Mroz in the 68th minute, but UWEC added to the margin when
Tavin Ferner scored from Pope's assist in the 80th minute. The Blugolds played through a physical closing stretch and finished the match with the 5-2 result.
Pope finished with two goals and an assist for five points, scoring on both of his shots. Denu recorded the game-winning goal, an unassisted score on his only shot. Ferner added a goal and put all three of his shots on frame. Backus scored on his lone shot.
The Blugolds move to 5-0-2 overall while the Knights fall to 4-2-0 overall.
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