St. Scholastica clinches UMAC Men's Soccer title
Story by Jesse Robinson
DULUTH, Minn. – Junior goalkeeper Sam Reed (Eastbourne, England/Causeway School) earned his program-record 12th shutout of the season on Saturday afternoon as the St. Scholastica Saints men’s soccer team defeated Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) rival Martin Luther College 4-0 on Senior Day at Saints Field.
With the victory, the Saints move to 14-3-1 on the season (11-0-1 UMAC) and clinch the top seed in the UMAC Tournament which begins in ten days. The Knights fall to 5-9-2 (2-7-2 UMAC).
Coach Barry Chastey started all nine of his seniors for the first time this season and saw results almost immediately as Andrew Ndekwe (Minneapolis, Minn./Minneapolis South HS) netted his second of the season just 5:13 into the game, with an assist from Toby Peter (Spalt, Germany/J.S. Bach Gymnasium). With the assist, Peter now sits at 98 career points, just three back from fourth place all-time on the Saints’ career scoring list.
Ndekwe came back with another goal just ten minutes later, this time with an assist from fellow senior Jim Atol (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS).
The Saints took a 2-0 lead into the half, but came back with two goals in the first minute of the second half to pull away to what would be a 4-0 final.
Jermaine Dacres (Nottingham, England/Haywood School) netted his 14th of the season just 27 seconds into the second half, with assists from Ndekwe and Cody Sveiven (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids HS). Dacres now sits at 75 career points, good for 10th on the Saints’ all-time scoring list. Sveiven’s assist moves him to a seventh-place tie all-time with 89 career points.
Just 31 seconds after Dacres’ score, freshman Joe Watt (Orpington, England/North West Kent College) netted an unassisted goal to finish the scoring for the Saints.
Despite it being Senior Day, Reed’s shutout was the story as he made one save to clinch his 12th shutout of the season and 27th of his career.