NEW ULM — The Martin Luther College men’s soccer team opened the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference season with a 5-1 win over University of Northwestern-St. Paul.

The Eagles controlled the action early and took a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute off a deflection in front of the net, but the Knights flipped the script on them by scoring three goals in less than four minutes to take a 3-1 halftime lead.

Luke Meihack put the Knights on the board in the 29th minute with a goal off a missed penalty kick, and Joel Koelpin gave MLC the lead just 28 seconds later when he cleaned up a loose ball following a header by Joe Graumann. Graumann got into the action three minutes later by cleaning up another loose ball in front of the goal off a Meihack pass to push the MLC lead to 3-1.

The Knights held the Eagles in check for much of the second half, and also proved opportunistic on their chances with two more goals. Aaron Swanson scored in the 72nd minute to push the lead to 4-1, and Hugo Ugalde-Bemer finished the scoring in the 76th minute off another Graumann assist.

Meihack’s goal was his team-leading second of the season, while Joel Koelpin, Graumann, Swanson and Ugalde-Bemer each scored their first on the season. Graumann also led the Knights with six total shots, while Graumann, Ugalde-Bemer and Meihack each recorded three shots on goal.

Gabriel Plocher was steady throughout in net, stopping 11 of the Eagles’ 12 shots on goal.

MLC improved to 2-3 on the season and 1-0 in UMAC play with the win. UNWSP fell to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in league play in defeat.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday when they travel to Bethany Lutheran for a game scheduled to kick off at 4:30 p.m.

MLC women lose

NEW ULM — The MLC women’s soccer team opened UMAC play with a 3-2 home loss to University of Northwestern-St. Paul on Wednesday.

The Knights fell behind early on a goal from UNWSP’s Emily Currie, but the Knights tied the game in the 21st minute on Avery Broyle’s first career goal of a rebound from Emily Witkowski’s shot.

With the teams still tied 1-1 early in the second half, the Eagles took control with goals in the 53rd and 55th minutes (97 seconds apart) to take a 3-1 lead. Broyles added her second goal of the game in the final minute off a pass from Abby Enstad, but time ran out before the Knights could complete a comeback.

Broyles’ two goals were the first two of her collegiate career, while Witkowski’s assist was the first point of her collegiate career.

Goalkeeper Mollie Fischer was busy throughout the game, stopping 20 of the Eagles’ 23 shots on goal to keep the Knights in the game.

MLC fell to 0-4 overall and 0-1 in UMAC play in defeat. UNWSP improved to 1-2-2 on the season and 1-0 in league play with the win.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday when they travel to Bethany Lutheran for a game scheduled to start at 2 p.m.