MENOMONIE – The University of Wisconsin-Stout men's soccer team earned its first win of the season with a convincing 2-0 shutout over Martin Luther College on Tuesday evening at Nelson Field. The Blue Devils (1-0-1) scored both goals in a quick first-half burst, dominating possession and outshooting the Knights (0-2-0) 24-7.
Stout wasted little time asserting control, generating multiple early chances before breaking through in the 16th minute. Sophomore forward
Gianluca Jones opened the scoring at the 15:50 mark, finishing a well-placed assist from midfielder
Marwan Kaddah for his first goal of the year. Less than a minute later, at 16:47, senior forward
Cole Larsen doubled the lead, converting a give and go from midfielder
Roberto Perez high off the right post to make it 2-0.
The Blue Devils' defense held firm throughout, limiting Martin Luther to just one shot on target. Goalkeeper
Eddie Puglisi earned the win with one save in 76 minutes before
Lucas Lang closed out the clean sheet in relief.
Stout controlled the tempo with 58% possession, eight corner kicks, and a flurry of shots, including five on target from Larsen alone. Despite a more even second half, the Blue Devils created several opportunities, with saves on efforts from
Nikola Dabetic,
Thomas Brand,
Jack Wasmund, and
Sevie Koss keeping the margin at two.
Wis.-Stout returns to action this weekend, when they host Concordia Moorhead on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 11 a.m.
