Men's Soccer used a big first half lead to get back in the win column on Saturday afternoon, defeating Martin Luther College 4-2.

Boxscore

Northland College Men's Soccer returned to Ponzio Stadium for a Saturday afternoon matchup with Martin Luther College. The two teams met previously in the season with Northland coming away with a one goal victory. A faster start at home allowed the LumberJacks to jump out to a big lead in the first half which they carried to a 4-2 victory.

The first half began with a pair of corner kicks for Northland. The Jacks were able to capitalize o the second one at the 4:35 mark. Sophomore Nick Diaz's kick found an open Izaak Clarke, who was able to find the net for his 10th goal of the season. Five minutes later it was Clarke picking up the assist as he played a ball to Quinn Bieber. Bieber's goal marked the third of the year for the freshman. After a Martin Luther goal in the 17th minute, it was Clarke's turn again. Dribbling the ball on the Martin Luther end line Clarke was taken down hard in the box and earned the penalty kick opportunity. Clarke hit the shot over a diving MLC keeper for his second goal of the game. It was thirteen minutes of back and forth play before another corner kick opportunity setup Northland again. Carlos Ponce played the corner kick in the air to the back post, where Bieber was able to get his head on it past the Knight's keeper for his second of the half. Martin Luther was able to pick up their second goal early in the second half before both teams played a scoreless final 42 minutes. Jamie Colvill recorded three saves in the win.

"It's good to get the three points (in the standings) and move us closer to the playoffs," said head coach Greg Gilmore. "I'm happy we were able to get an early lead, that's something we've struggled with this year. A few moments we need to work on, but offensively we created a lot, which gives us some momentum for our road trip next weekend."

The LumberJacks (6-6-4, 5-2-3 UMAC) head out on the road next week for two conference matchups. First up, they will play at Northwestern on Friday at 1:00 PM.

Northland College is an NCAA Division III institution located in Ashland, WI. The LumberJacks and LumberJills sponsor 14 varsity sports and compete in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, Midwest Lacrosse Conference and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.