New Ulm boys suffer 1-score loss to Jordan in 2AA quarterfinals
NEW ULM — The New Ulm and Jordan boys soccer teams last met just four games ago, with the teams fighting in the wind to a 1-1 draw.
On Tuesday, the teams played once again under much different conditions, with negligible wind and higher stakes. This time No. 5 Jordan was able to take the 3-2 win in the Section 2AA boys soccer quarterfinal match, ending No. 4 New Ulm’s season.
New Ulm had also played Jordan in a scrimmage to open the season, and the team that played the Eagles on Tuesday was much more skilled than the one they faced in August.
“That was our very first game of the year,” New Ulm head coach Timothy Plocher said. “A scrimmage up in Jordan. I kind of got to see what to expect when we were playing them there. What I saw there to what I saw now, they had better ball skills, they were better being first to the ball, especially in the first half. Whatever their coach said, it obviously got them fired up.
“They had a guy they were targeting, and we just couldn’t break him down. Our defenders did phenomenally, Cole [Frederick] had an amazing save where they shot and he headered it out of the goal. It sucks for the guys to have the season end. They put their heart and soul into this, and I know how they feel.”
Plocher expressed that he thought that New Ulm’s season was better than the 4-seed the team received for the playoffs, but Jordan still proved to be the better team in the game.
“I’ll be completely honest, I did not expect this season to be as good as it was,” Plocher said. “I disagree with the seeding that we got, knowing the 4 versus the 5-seed, I knew it was going to be tough. I expected Jordan to be good, and I believe that things should had been a little different. Regardless, the score showed the way the game played out. We were both going for it, and we were both very good.”
Junior Amoah and Jackson Ocampo scored New Ulm’s goals in the game. Jens Quist had five saves.
After a long scoreless stretch in the first half, Jordan broke the seal with a free kick by Brayden Davis that bounced between Quist and the right goal post before hitting the back of the net in the 22nd minute. Just one minute later, Amoah responded by collecting a rebound that slipped out of Jordan goalkeeper Braxton Robert’s hands and put it into the bottom left corner to tie the score at 1. Another scoreless stretch followed, with Quist scrambling to make a save on a loose ball in front of the net in the 33rd minute and keep the game tied. However, the Hubmen kept the effort up, with Davis scoring once again on a through ball in the 32nd minute to give Jordan a 2-1 lead.
Ocampo kept New Ulm in the game in the final minute of the first half, getting a through ball of his own, hesitating, then scoring in the bottom right corner with 37 seconds left on the clock to tie the game once more.
Jordan didn’t let the game stay tied long, however, as a high, curving shot by Malachi Lange soared 30 yards into the goal in the 60th minute to give Jordan the 3-2 lead. Roberts made a brilliant save in the 64th minute, diving to his right to block a shot by New Ulm’s Daniel Brownfield. New Ulm had one more chance to score, with Roberts getting out of position and leaving an open net for Ocampo in the 70th minute, but his shot bounced back off of the right upright, and the Hubmen took home the victory.
New Ulm finishes its season with a 11-5-1 record, a three-win improvement over last season and the most wins the team has had since the 2008 season.