The Lawrence University men’s soccer team went 0-2 on a weekend with postseason implications. With an away game at Ripon College Saturday and a home contest scheduled for Sunday against UW-Superior, the Vikings could only hope to improve their current status as a 4-seed in the Midwest Conference Tournament. The Vikings were unable to accomplish such a feat and were shut out by both opponents.
Lawrence and Ripon battled for 70 minutes before the Red Hawks found the back of the net, scoring on a goal from Kevin Cederholm. Ripon struck again in the final minutes of the game when Zach Hershoff scored in the 87th minute.
About the 2-0 loss, freshman forward Charlie Mann commented, “We just couldn’t get much going offensively, but we’re excited for another chance to match up with them this Friday.”
With the win, the Red Hawks (11-6-1, 8-1-0 MWC) clinched the conference title as well as the right to host the tournament.
On Sunday, the Vikings matched up with UW-Superior in a non-conference game. The contest saw a great deal of substitutions, with the Vikings playing 22 different players as their starters rested in preparation for the tournament.
However, those 22 players combined for only three shots on goal. The Viking defense was ultimately broken in the 64th minute by Superior’s Eric Nilsen, whose goal gave his team a 1-0 victory after the Yellowjackets’ defense held for the remainder of the game
Lawrence (9-7-1, 6-3-0 MWC), finished the regular season in fourth in the conference, which was enough to qualify for the Midwest Conference Tournament. The Vikings take on Ripon at 1:30 p.m. Friday in the conference semifinal. With a win, Lawrence will face either Carroll or Grinnell in Saturday’s championship, the winner of which will earn the right to play in the national tournament.
Men’s soccer blanked twice, headed for conference tournament
