NEW ULM — The Martin Luther College women’s soccer team was unable to hold a first half lead in a 3-2 defeat to Minnesota Morris on Tuesday.

The Knights jumped on top early 1-0 on a Martha Balge long shot over the head of UMM keeper Megan Tschida in the ninth minute. Hailey Johnson assisted on the the goal, which was Balge’s third of the season.

UMM’s Molly Hancuh tied the game in the 26th minute with a long shot from a bad angle, but the Knights were able to pull ahead 2-1 in the 33rd minute on a header from Johnson off a Carissa Friebe cross. Johnson’s goal was her fourth of the season and gave the Knights the lead and momentum heading into the half.

Hancuh once got free for a second time for her league-leading 18th goal of the game in the 57th minute to tie the game, and then made the pass to free Brooke Lorentz in the 79th minute that gave the Cougars the lead and the win.

Both defenses were strong throughout, as the teams combined for 15 shots and nine shots on goal. Morgan Hill led MLC with two shots, while Erin Feddersen finished with one save in goal for the Knights.

MLC fell to 7-5-1 overall and 6-2-1 in UMAC play in defeat, while UMM improved to 7-7-1 on the season and 5-4-1 in league play with the win.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday, October 21, when they host Northwestern for a game scheduled to start at 1 p.m.

Knights lose lead to Morris

NEW ULM — The Martin Luther College men’s soccer team was unable to hold an early two-goal lead in a 4-2 defeat against Minnesota Morris on Tuesday.

The Knights jumped out front thanks to a pair of goals by Hugo Ugalde-Bemer in the opening minutes. Ugalde-Bemer opened the scoring in the fifth minute off a cross from Joseph Graumann, and then scored his second of the day in the 13th minute off a cross from Joel Koelpin to give him three goals on the season and the Knights a 2-0 lead in the game.

The Cougars made their way back, however, scoring three times in the final 30 minutes of the half to take a 3-2 lead at the break.

UMM added to its lead with a goal in the 56th minute, and then held off several good scoring chances for the Knights the rest of the way to leave with the two-goal victory.

Both teams finished with 17 shots in the game, with UMM holding an 8-5 edge in shots on goal. Graumann finished with a game-high five shots, while Ugalde-Bemer recorded three total shots and two shots on goal.

Caleb King started in goal for MLC and stopped four of the eight shots he faced.

The Knights fell to 5-10 overall and 4-5 in UMAC play in defeat. UMM improved to 8-7-1 on the season and 6-3-1 in conference play with the win.

MLC will return to action on Saturday when it hosts Northwestern in a match scheduled to start at 3:15 p.m.