SAINT PAUL, MINN.—For the first time since 2004, the Hamline University men's soccer team have moved to 6-0 on the season with a 3-2 victory over first-year varsity program UW-Stevens Point at Pat Paterson Field on Tuesday afternoon.
In the process, the Pipers handed the Pointers their first loss in program history as they fell to 2-1-2 overall.
Hamline 3, UW-Stevens Point 2
Adversity was in front of the Pipers in the latter part of the first half, as they were assessed a yellow card in the 38th minute. Over a minute later, Owen Zikowski took a misplayed ball by the Hamline goalkeeper 20 yards in front of the net and capitalized on a wide-open goal in the 39th minute to give UW-Stevens Point a 1-0 lead.
Elijah Bishop, who checked into the game for the first time in the 44th minute, made the most of his opportunity when he tipped in a Jessie Juarez free kick with 00:43 remaining to knot the game at 1-1.
Hamline took a 2-1 lead in the 54th minute when Wylie Wright's throw-in bounced off the head of Clarence Weah to Ryder Tomlinson Sterud 30 yards on the goalkeeper's right. Tomlinson Sterud found Jonathan Bayer 15 yards in front of the goal, where he fired a shot to the back of the net.
The Pointers answered the bell in the 60th minute thanks to Keegan Bell's pass from the corner to Devin Wilkerson at the top right of the box. From there, Wilkerson chipped a shot to the top-right of the goal that evened the score to 2-2.
The game-winning goal belonged to Ryder Tomlinson Sterud. He took a backwards pass from Juarez in the box, took a couple steps, and fired a shot off his left foot to the top-left of the goal, which sealed a 3-2 victory for the Pipers.
Tomlinson Sterud paced the Hamline offense with one goal and one assist for a three-point outing, while Juarez dished two assists. Bishop and Bayer round out the Piper goal scorers. Weah also picked up an assist for Hamline, who out shot Stevens Point 16-11. Tomlinson Sterud had a game-high five shots, followed by four from Bayer.
Maxim Henderson stopped four shots in his fourth goalkeeping victory for Hamline, while his counterpart Jacob Havlik made five saves for UW-Stevens Point.
The Pipers will make the short trip to North Central (Minn.) tomorrow, Wednesday, September 11 for a 3:30 p.m. match.
