Box Score It is something that hasn't happened around here for a decade. The HU men's soccer team guaranteed themselves a second straight winning season with a taut 1-0 triumph at Bethel Wednesday.
But that is only part of the story.
With three regular season games left, Hamline, which has lost just once in its last seven games, is 9-4-1 overall. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that HU improved to 4-2-1 in the MIAC. That places them in third place with 13 points, two behind second place Macalester and one ahead of fourth place Gustavus Adolphus. The top six teams advanced to the conference postseason tournament. HU qualified in 2016 but missed out last season.
HU used a familiar formula to earn the victory. In the 23rd minute of play,
Adam King wriggled in between two Bethel defenders, took a pass from
James Nash and slipped the ball into the net for his seventh goal of the year. It ended up being his fourth game winner of the season, a stat that ranks second among all MIAC attackers. The sophomore also stands third in goals and points with 21. (He is also second in assists with seven.)
At the other end of the field,
Malachy Zamacona was putting his 6-4 frame to good use in goal. The sophomore made a sprawling save early to keep the game scoreless. He added a second save later in the half. He also came out hard on BU attackers (see above picture), often stopping plays before they could get started. The North St. Paul, Minn. native thus earned his first college shutout while improving his 2017 won-loss mark to 4-0-0 and his goals-against average to 1.00.
It was a tight game with neither team getting a lot of room to operate. Hamline held an overall edge in shots attempted, 7-6. King,
Oscar Campbell and
Ryan Pyle had two each with
Stefan Kinsinger achieving the other one.
Hamline was 9-6-2 last season. They will go for victory no. 10 overall -- something that hasn't been achieved at HU since 2006-07 -- on Saturday, October 14 against St. Mary's (7-6-0, 1-4-0 MIAC) at Paterson Field. Game time is 1:00 p.m.
