RAPID CITY, S.D. – Gage Wood scored two goals and Broc Underhill added a goal and an assist as the Westminster men's soccer team beat South Dakota Mines 3-1 on Friday afternoon at Dakota Fields. Westminster scored three goals on 10 shots, and Oliver Olsen made five saves as the Hardrockers pushed hard in the second half.
Game Breakdown
First Half
The Griffins struck early. Wood scored at 3:15, finishing off an assist from Ashton Duran to give Westminster a 1-0 lead. Jack Epstein had a shot wide at 0:41 and a saved shot at 5:30, and Westminster out-shot South Dakota Mines 6-2 in the half. The Griffins also put together a flurry at 20:39, 20:43, and 20:50, with Stellan Blomberg, Wood, and Duran each having a shot blocked within about 11 seconds.
Olsen kept the clean sheet through the half, saving shots from Zach Peroff at 14:16 and Even Henriksen at 43:01. Westminster led 1-0 at the break.
Second Half
Westminster doubled the lead just 2:28 after the restart. Wood scored his second of the match at 47:28, assisted by Underhill, to make it 2-0.
South Dakota Mines pushed back with 10 second-half shots and four corner kicks, but Olsen was sharp in the middle of the half. He saved Nickolas North at 59:18, Erik Castanon at 65:14, and North again at 66:00. Westminster put the match away at 71:27, when Underhill scored an unassisted goal for a 3-0 lead.
Julen Arteaga scored for the Hardrockers at 76:35 to cut the deficit to 3-1. Epstein had a saved shot at 66:34, and Nefthaly Loya had one saved at 89:54, but the score held. All four of Westminster's second-half shots were on target, two of them goals.
Griffin Performances
-
Gage Wood scored two goals, taking his season total to five, on three shots, two on target, in 68 minutes
-
Broc Underhill scored a goal and recorded an assist, putting his only shot on target, in 90 minutes
-
Ashton Duran set up Wood's opening goal with an assist
-
Jack Epstein fired three shots, two on target, in 75 minutes
-
Nefthaly Loya put a shot on goal off the bench in 22 minutes
-
Oliver Olsen earned the win in goal with five saves over 90 minutes
Final Stats
-
Shots: South Dakota Mines 12, Westminster 10
-
Shots on Goal: Westminster 6, South Dakota Mines 6
-
Corner Kicks: South Dakota Mines 5, Westminster 0
-
Fouls: Westminster 11, South Dakota Mines 11
-
Saves: Westminster 5 (Olsen), South Dakota Mines 3 (Otto)
-
Offsides: Westminster 1, South Dakota Mines 0
With the win, Westminster improves to 5-5-4 overall and 3-2-1 in RMAC play, while South Dakota Mines falls to 7-4-3 overall and 3-3-1 in conference play.
Up Next
Westminster stays on the road to face Regis on Sunday.
