EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — UW-Eau Claire lost to Wartburg College 1-0 on a rainy Tuesday night at Simpson Field. The Blugolds generated 14 shots, including nine in the second half, but were held scoreless. Both teams put five shots on goal, and UW-Eau Claire finished with four corner kicks while its goalkeeper made four saves.
The Blugolds fell behind in the 23rd minute when Diego Sanchez scored for the Knights off an assist from Alima Mmunga, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead. Earlier,
Charlie Mroz kept the match scoreless with a save on Sanchez in the 15th minute during a physical opening stretch that included multiple fouls and cautions. UW-Eau Claire generated a response after the goal, earning a corner and forcing Caleb Cross to save
Luis Marquez Sedano's shot in the 25th minute before
Noah Malcook sent a chance high in the 30th. The home side continued pressing late in the half, with
Andrew Phillips,
Brady Stamp and
Colin Mandernach all recording shots and Cross saving the final two, but the Blugolds went into halftime trailing 1-0.
UW-Eau Claire kept the second half scoreless and pressed for an equalizer, but the Knights held on for a 1-0 final. Earlier,
Alex Cernea helped the Blugolds get through a Knights push between 50:14 and 51:52, saving one of three shots as the visitors also earned two corner kicks. UW-Eau Claire answered with four shots from 54:06 to 61:04, including attempts by
Aiden Judickas,
Tate McDermott,
Kyron Pope and
Oge Enwemnwa. The Blugolds made another late push from 79:30 to 86:33, with Stamp and
Ramzi Ouro putting shots on frame that Caleb Cross saved before Malcook sent the final UW-Eau Claire attempt high.
Malcook led the Blugolds with three shots. Stamp put both of his shot attempts on goal. Cernea recorded two saves over 45 scoreless minutes in net. Mroz added two saves in 45 minutes.
The Blugolds fall to 5-2-2 overall while the Knights go to 3-2-3 overall.
Up next, the Blugolds travel to River Falls, Wis., to face UW-River Falls on Friday, Oct. 2 for their WIAC opener. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Ramer Soccer Stadium.
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