Men’s soccer team blanks North Central

NEW ULM — The Martin Luther College men’s soccer team rolled to a 6-0 win over North Central University in non-conference play on Tuesday.

The Knights took control from the start, scoring three times in the opening 15 minutes on the way to a 3-0 halftime lead.

Luke Meihack started the scoring with a pair of goals in the fifth and 13th minutes, while Phil Balge added the third goal in the 15th minute. Meihack also added an assist on Balge’s tally, while Clay Hirsch added a pair of helpers in the half.

MLC didn’t score again until the 80th minute, when Joe Graumann scored off a pass from Mark Burger to push the lead to 4-0. Marcus Sims and Nicholas Mitchell each scored their first career goals in the final four minutes to close the scoring.

The Rams picked up the pace in the second half, but MLC keeper Josiah Mittelstadt kept them off the board to earn his first career clean sheet with five saves on the day.

Meihack and Graumann each have four goals on the season following their scores against the Rams, and Graumann also added an assist in the first half. Jonah Schulz, Justin Schroeder and Nate Lemke also added assists.

MLC improved to 2-2-1 on the season with the win, while NCU fell to 1-4-0 in defeat.

The Knights will return to action on Friday, September 13, when they travel to Carroll for a game scheduled to start at 5 p.m.

Women’s soccer stops North Central

NEW ULM — The Martin Luther College women’s soccer team won its home opener by the score of 5-0 against North Central University in non-conference action on Tuesday.

The Knights entered the game with nearly two weeks off since their season-opening performance against Buena Vista, but showed no signs of rust as they peppered the NCU goal with 19 shots and scored three goals in the first half.

Erika Rosenbaum opened the scoring in the 12th minute off a pass from Carissa Friebe, and Francis Santos Hernandez and Nicole Porter each added goals late in the half to push the MLC lead to 3-0 at the break.

Emily Witkowski opened the second-half scoring in the 49th minute, while Friebe scored the fifth and final goal in the 61 minute.

Avery Broyles assisted on both second-half goals, while Rebecca Krug and Tabitha Vannieuwenhoven each added assists in the first half.

The first-half goals by Rosenbaum, Santos Hernandez and Porter were the first in each of their collegiate careers.

Mollie Fischer stopped all six NCU shots on goal for her first shutout of the season and the second of her MLC career.

The Knights improved to 1-1-0 on the season with the win, while NCU fell to 0-4-0 in defeat.

MLC will return to action on Friday, when it hosts Mount Mary in a game scheduled to start at 4 p.m.

Buena Vista sweeps MLC in volleyball

STORM LAKE — The Martin Luther College volleyball team lost a hard-fought match at Buena Vista 3-0 on Tuesday by the scores of 25-15, 25-22, 26-24.

After dropping the first set, the Knights rallied from early deficits in the second and third games to have a chance to win each game, but the Beavers were able to shut the door both times to secure the three-set sweep.

MLC recorded 35 kills in the three games and hit .106 for the match. Kati Aguilar led the way with nine kills, while Hannah Willems added eight kills. Alyssa Heckendorf led the team with a .286 attack percentage.

Jewel St. Germaine paced the Knights with 22 assists, and Kate Aswege led the team with 15 digs. Heckendorf finished with a team-best three blocks, including one solo block.

MLC fell to 1-8 on the season in defeat, while BVU improved to 2-5 with the win.

The Knights will return to action on Friday, September 13, when they travel to UW-Eau Claire for a one-day tournament. MLC will face Lakeland at 3 p.m., followed by a match against Linfield at 5 p.m.