Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Martin Luther University’s Carson Mattek, 13, after scoring a goal in a DIII nonconference men’s soccer game against Oak Hills Christian on Wednesday at the MLC Soccer Pitch in New Ulm. He is greeted and congratulated by teammate Owen Schultz.
NEW ULM — Freshmen were fired up for the Martin Luther College Knights Wednesday afternoon.
Goals from five first-year team members helped the Knights escape with an 8-0 shutout victory over the Oak Hills Christian College Wolfpack in a DIII non-conference men’s soccer game played at the MLC Soccer Pitch.
Freshman Adam Wietzke scored twice for the Knights, and freshmen Joshua Krenke, Evan Wolfgram, Carson Mattek and Owen Schultz each had a goal. Juniors Owen Hyman and Chandler Ross each also scored a goal for the Knights.
For Wolfgram, Mattek and Schultz, their goals were special because they were the trio’s first goals of their collegiate careers.
MLC’s freshman goal scorers come from all over the country, with Krenke, Schultz and Wolfgram calling Wisconsin home. Mattek is from Willis, Texas, and Witzke is from Pueblo West, Colorado.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Martin Luther College’s Louis Schultz battles for the ball with Oak Hills Christian’s Deacon Bock during a DIII non-conference men’s soccer game Wednesday at the MLC Soccer Pitch in New Ulm.
“We are a special school that trains missionaries, pastors, and teachers, so it’s really wonderful to see people from all over the country come here who want to do that.” said MLC Associate Men’s Soccer Coach Nicholas Schmoller. “We have a lot of freshmen, we had five starters yesterday against Bethany, and they’re all on fire. Even today, we have guys who didn’t see the field yesterday who stepped up in that moment.” It’s fun as a coach to see them do well.”
Wednesday’s shutout performance was just what the Knights needed after losing 2-0 to Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato on Tuesday.
Getting more freshmen on the field wasn’t difficult for the Knights, who had built a 4-0 lead at halftime. MLC goaltenders Nicholas Russ and Joshua Currys split time at the net and had nothing to do but watch as their teammates dominated the time of possession and didn’t allow the Wolfpack a single shot. .
Meanwhile, the Knights had 70 shots and 31 shots on target.
Krenke took the lead for MLC in the 15th minute with an assist from Johannes Bulman, and a minute later Wolfgram’s unassisted goal gave the Knights a 2-0 lead. In the 21st minute, MLC took a 3-0 lead on Heyman’s unassisted goal. The Knights then took 11 more shots and scored again in the 43rd minute with an unassisted goal by Ross.
In the 57th minute, Mattek scored on Eli Stern’s cross for a 5-0 lead. Schultz scored an unassisted goal in the 68th minute to give MLC a 6-0 lead, and Wietzke’s first goal of the day in the 81st minute gave MLC a 7-0 lead. Wietzke scored his second goal of the day in the closing minutes with assists from Ile Schuh and Manuel Iglesias.
“We have a deep roster in practice, so it’s a great competition between guys who play a lot of minutes in conference games and guys who don’t.” Schmoller said. “So, we have some good, quality players here. We said to them, ‘It’s time to get on the field and show us what you can do,’ and they did that. I think I took it to heart. Whenever I compete, I want to do my best and show what I can do, no matter who the opponent is. ”
The Knights (2-6-1) will travel to take on Crown College and resume Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
By Jim Bastian Journal Sports Writer NEW ULM — Week 5 of the high school football season features two local games.
