Staff photo by Steve Muscatello New Ulm goalie Joshua Rakoczy grabs the ball after making a save on a penalty kick in the first half of the Eagles’ playoff game against Albert Lea Thursday at New Ulm High School.

NEW ULM — Neither the wind, rain or a speedy Albert Lea team could stop New Ulm on Thursday from advancing to the next round of the Section 2A boys’ soccer playoffs, with a pair of goals from Jack Howard being just enough to lift the No. 8-seeded Eagles to a 2-1 win at New Ulm High School.

The cold, rainy mist continued throughout the entire playoff game on Thursday, but it didn’t discourage Howard from making an early impact as he scored both of his goals in the first half.

“To be quite honest, even though these conditions were terrible, it’s kind of like a challenge,” Howard said. “It does’t matter what you throw at us, let’s get it, we’re going to push through it. That’s the way to do it in this type of condition, and we did.”

Howard’s first goal came on a sliding kick in the goal box in the 12th minute on an assist from Dan Rosenhamer. His second goal was assisted by Isaac Blumhoefer in the 20th minute and was a close-range kick to the left of Albert Lea keeper Caleb Hanson.

The Tigers added their lone goal in the second half after New Ulm keeper Josh Rakoczy came up to play the ball and slipped, allowing Karter Kenis to slide by with ease and score from close range. Despite the slip, Rakoczy made 11 saves in the game, making arguably his biggest save of the evening in the first half on a penalty kick.

After Lei Htoo drew a penalty kick and got a one-on-one chance to put the Tigers on the board in the 14th minute, Rakoczy made a diving stop to his left to prevent the low kick from going in and keep the Eagles in front by a goal.

New Ulm now moves on to a 1 p.m. Saturday meeting with the top-seeded Bloomington Kennedy in Bloomington. Howard said that although he’s not entirely sure what to expect Saturday, he is confident in what his team can bring to the table.

“We have not played them yet,” Howard said of Bloomington Kennedy. “However, I believe if we play our very best, we can get them. We’ve beaten other top teams, so we’re ready to go get it.”