Blake Perry (left) had the Yellowjackets lone shot on goal Saturday. The ‘Jackets (7-1) lost for the first time this season, 2-0 to Augsburg.
Photo by Holden Law

Yellowjacket men’s soccer team is known for playing one of the most rugged schedules in the region. No matter the opponent, no matter the location, the Yellowjackets have never been afraid to take on the region’s best op­ponents, a deliberate and calculated move designed to prepare the team for the meat grinder that is the NCAA tournament.

But that’s in a typical year. This season, due to COVID, the Yellowjackets were forced to abandon their non-conference schedule, and with it, some of the great contests we’ve become accustomed to. Saturday afternoon the Yellowjackets, enjoying their UMAC bye week, were able to get back on the pitch, taking on Augs­burg, a non-conference foe they have faced before in NCAA play.

The Auggies proved to be anything but gracious hosts, scoring twice early and shutting the Yellow­jackets down offensively, on the way to a 2-0 win at Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis Saturday.

The victory was the first of the season for the Aug­gies, who in turn handed the Yellowjackets (7-1-0) their first loss of the season.

Augsburg got on the board early when Nick Zuchowski converted on a penalty kick in the 20th minute, booting a shot into the lower left corner to make it 1-0. The Aug­gies would make it a 2-0 match less than five min­utes later when Varney Conneh scored at 24:12.

From there the Auggies stifling defense would keep the Yellowjackets at bay, limiting the opportu­nities of one of the high­est scoring teams in the region.

Augsburg bettered the Yellowjackets in shots (15-7) and had a 6-1 edge in shots on goal. Blake Perry (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) had the lone shot on goal of the match for the Yellowjackets. Perry attempted two shots for the Yellowjackets, who were led by Brandon Conklin (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) with three attempts.

Ulrik Lager (Vollen, Nor­way/Asker VGS) started in goal for the Yellowjack­ets and made four saves in the match.

The Yellowjackets will look to keep their un­beaten UMAC schedule in tact as they close out the home portion of their regular tonight, hosting St. Scholastica. Open­ing kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex. Their season wraps up Saturday at Northland.