Information courtesy of MLC Athletics

DULUTH — The Martin Luther College football team was locked in on both sides of the ball in a 27-6 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference win at St. Scholastica on Saturday.

After rushing for a school-record 477 yards in last year’s win over the Saints, the MLC offense finished Saturday with 402 yards rushing on 75 carries.

Defensively, MLC held CSS to only 84 total yards, including -20 yards rushing thanks to eight quarterback sacks. The defense also forced three turnovers in the game.

Austin DeNoyer had a career day for MLC on the ground with 36 carries for 225 yards and two scores, while backfield partner Joshuah Kren ran 20 times for 128 yards and one score.

After taking a 13-6 lead into halftime without a pass completion, quarterback Ethan Aguilar tossed a 24-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mike Radue to push the lead to 20-6 early in the third quarter. With the defense continuing to hold the Saints at bay, DeNoyer put the game to bed in the opening minute of the fourth quarter with a 12-yard touchdown run.

The defense came in ready for quarterback Zach Edwards and the Saints’ passing attack. Edwards entered the week averaging a UMAC-best 305 yards per game with 17 passing touchdowns, but was held to only 104 passing yards on 27 attempts thanks to the Knights’ ferocious pass rush and disciplined secondary. Marquise Jackson-Hunter was a force throughout the game with 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, while Jacob Schmidt added 2.5 sacks. Ben Riegsecker, Keith Brassow and Nate Holz also added sacks for the MLC defense.

Ian Paulsen recorded two interceptions to go with a pair of pass break-ups and a blocked point after attempt, while Aiden Holien also added an interception.

MLC improved to 3-1 on the season and 2-0 in UMAC play with the win. CSS fell to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in league play in defeat.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday, when it hosts Iowa Wesleyan in the Homecoming Game. That contest is scheduled to start at 12 p.m.

Volleyball

ASHLAND, Wis. — The MLC volleyball team scored its first win of the conference season with 3-1 (25-17, 17-25, 28-26, 25-21) victory at Northland College on Saturday.

The Knights dominated the opening set with an attack efficiency of .345 to take a 1-0 lead, but Northland tied the match 1-1 following a strong second set.

The two teams went back and forth in the third game, but MLC rallied at the end to take a 2-1 lead in the match before closing out the LumberJills in the fourth set.

Hannah Willems led MLC with 10 kills against only two errors, and also finished with a pair of solo blocks. Kaylie Solomon added eight kills for the Knights, while Jewel St. Germaine led the team with 15 assists.

Kate Aswege recorded a team-high 15 digs in the match, and Kati Aguilar finished with three service aces to go with seven kills.

MLC improved to 3-15 on the season and 1-1 in UMAC play with the win. Northland fell to 6-11 overall and 0-2 in league play in defeat.

The Knights will return to action at home on Tuesday, October 8, when they host Bethany Lutheran in a match scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

Men’s soccer

NEW ULM — The MLC men’s soccer team fell just short in its upset bid against defending UMAC champion UW-Superior in a 2-1 loss in double overtime.

The two teams battled the weather and field conditions following a rain-filled week that was capped by nearly two more inches of rain Saturday morning.

MLC was undeterred, however, as Joe Graumann quickly put the Knights ahead 1-0 just 61 seconds into the game off a counter attack assist from Lucas Martin. The goal was Graumann’s team-leading sixth of the season.

The Knights would hold that one-goal advantage until early in the second half, when Miguel Ocampo scored for the Yellowjackets to tie the game.

The two teams remained tied through the end of regulation and one overtime period until the 102nd minute, when a foul in the box led to a penalty kick goal by Eric Watson to win the game for the Yellowjackets.

Joshua Higgins as stellar in goal for the Knights throughout the game, stopping 18 of 20 UWS shots on goal. The defensive back line of Nate Lemke, James Nitz, Seth Hackbarth and Caleb Hengst also did a good job all day against the skilled Yellowjackets and kept them outside the box enough to give Higgins a chance.

MLC fell to 3-7-2 on the season and 1-1-0 in UMAC play in defeat. UWS improved to 7-2-2 overall and 3-0-0 in league play with the win.

The Knights will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Bethany Lutheran College for a game scheduled to start at 5 p.m.

Men’s golf

BECKER — The MLC men’s golf team finished third at the 2019 UMAC Golf Championships held at Pebble Creek Golf Course on Saturday.

The Knights entered the day in third place and held on to that finish despite difficult conditions. The team’s third place finish was the program’s best finish at the event since winning the 2008 UMAC Golf Championships.

MLC finished the three-day tournament with a team score of 1,008. The team shot a score of 342 in Saturday’s final round.

Stephen Biebert (80-82-85-247) led the Knights in a tie for 13th place, while Zackary Zuberbier (84-81-83-248) and Kyle Lindemann (88-79-82-249) just behind him 16th and 17th place, respectively. Lindemann shot the low score by an MLC golfer in both the second and third rounds of the event.

John Fix (85-87-92-264) rounded out the Knights’ top four in a tie for 25th place.

UW-Superior won the event with a three-day team score of 910. St. Scholastica (944) took second.

Women’s golf

BECKER — The MLC women’s golf team finished the season with a seventh-place finish at the three-day UMAC Golf Championships held at Pebble Creek Golf Course on Saturday.

Senior Alison Lindemann (91-97-83-271) wrapped up a stellar four-year career for the Knights with a career- best round of 83 in rainy conditions to take fifth overall at the event. Lindemann’s round of 83 was the lowest of any player on Saturday and the second-lowest round in any round over the three days.

Lindemann’s fifth-place finish topped her prevous best finish at the event in 2018 when she tied for sixth place.

MLC finished the tournament in seventh place in the team competition with a score of 1339 total strokes. The Knights shot a team score of 446 on Saturday.

Lexi Fischer (121-112-115-348) was the Knights’ No. 2 scorer in a tie for 28th place, while Cassandra Rose (116-115-130-361) and Melina Satorius (128-113-120-361) tied for 32nd place.

St. Scholastica won the team competition with a score of 1057 strokes. Northwestern-St. Paul (1184) and Minnesota Morris (1203) rounded out the top three.