Superior blanks Concordia to open 2013 season

The men's soccer team, fresh off a convincing 6-2 win over Viterbo College in exhibition play, took the field for the first time in the regular season on Friday and looked like a team in mid-season form.

John Levenick (Champlin, Minn./Champlin) scored an unassisted goal just 4:18 into the match and Matt Elder (New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) made five saves to help the Yellowjackets to a 3-0 win over Concordia College at Public Schools Stadium in Duluth.

Levenick got the Yellowjackets on the board when he saw a breakdown in the Cobber defense, stole the ball and blasted a kick past Cobber goalkeeper Peter Runquist for his first goal of the year. Following the goal the Yellowjackets pressed on offense and nearly stretched the lead, only to have the ball twice glance off the post and keep the score at 1-0.

Things came to a halt with two minutes to play in the first half when Yellowjacket sophomore Ryan Linsmayer (Dresser, Wis./Osceola) suffered a serious leg injury and had to be taken from the field on a stretcher and transported to a local hospital. As a result the final two minutes of the first half were played after half time, the Yellowjackets hanging onto the one-goal lead.

After the teams switched ends the Yellowjackets continued to apply pressure and finally made it 2-0 when Chase Carey (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) put a shot home at 54:25, taking a feed from Brian Grand (North Branch, Minn./North Branch) and beating Runquist on the left side for his first of the year.

The Yellowjackets closed out the scoring at 77:28 when Karl Schmidtke (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) let a long kick go that eluded Runquist to make it 3-0. For Schmidtke, it was his first collegiate goal after going scoreless in 14 matches as a freshman.

From there the Yellowjackets played solid defense, stifling any offensive opportunities the Cobbers created. When a scoring chance did come about, Elder was there to turn it away. For Elder, the shutout was his first of the season and the ninth of his career.

The Yellowjackets (1-0-0, 0-0-0 WIAC) return to the pitch on Saturday, August 31 when they take on Loras College of Dubuque, Iowa at Public Schools Stadium beginning at 4:30 p.m.