MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) -Â Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference regular season co-champion Milwaukee School of Engineering stunned Wisconsin Lutheran College 2-1 on a game-winning goal with just 0:10 seconds left on Wednesday at Viets Field in the regular season finale for both teams.
The Warriors (8-7-2, 6-6-0 NACC), who were seconds away from knocking the Raiders (14-1-3, 10-0-2 NACC) from the top seed in the upcoming NACC Tournament, suffered their fourth one-goal defeat of the season.
WLC went toe-to-toe with MSOE in the first half, holding a 2-1 edge in shots on goal despite being outshot 10-2 overall. Freshman
Aydan Scortino (Pewaukee, Wis.) and senior
Ben Meaux (Franklin, Wis.) placed both shots on frame, as the score read 0-0 at halftime.
Wisconsin Lutheran capitalized on its only shot on frame in the 65th minute of the second half. Freshman
Andrew King (East Moline, Ill.) received a pass from the right side from freshman
Francisco Espinoza Jr. (Sheboygan, Wis.) and blasted it from the top center of the box past the outstretched arms for the Raiders' keeper for a 1-0 lead.
Milwaukee School of Engineering evened the match at 1-1 four minutes later in the 69th minute when Tanner Cellio converted a penalty kick following a foul inside the box.Â
Twenty minutes later, MSOE drew a late foul, and after the official stopped the clock with just over 0:10 seconds left to setup a free kick, the Raiders sent goalkeeper Ethan Houseworth forward who finished a ricochet into the back of the net for the heartbreaking game-winner.
King, Meaux, Scortino, and freshman
Hector Cervantes (Milwaukee, Wis.) tallied one shot each for the Warriors. Senior
Puma Galvan (Racine, Wis.) made three saves.
Fifth-seeded WLC will make its first NACC Tournament appearance since 2020 when it travels to fourth-seeded St. Norbert (8-6-3, 7-3-2 NACC) for a First Round matchup on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Schneider Stadium in De Pere. Live coverage links will be available at WLCSports.com.
Â
