Staff photo by Travis Rosenau
Martin Luther College goalie Michael Friesenegger slides in front of MLC defender Elijah Dorn (19) to deflect a shot by Northland’s Jonah Evans (9) on Saturday afternoon at the MLC Soccer Pitch.

NEW ULM — Xander Heiman’s goal in the seventh minute on Saturday gave the Martin Luther College men’s soccer team an early lead over Northland College while giving the home crowd something to cheer for right away.

Unfortunately for the Knights (2-11, 1-9), the lead didn’t last long as the Lumberjacks (8-8, 5-5) were able to tie it up 22 seconds later and then take the lead five minutes later on the way to a 2-1 win in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference match.

Heiman’s goal went high over the head of Northland goalie Jamie Colvill and gave the Knights a boost of confidence after Friday’s 7-0 loss to UW-Superior. The Lumberjacks answered back less than 30 seconds later, however, as Jonah Evans took a long pass from Garrett Sutton and buried it into the back of the net on a low shot to tie it in the eighth minute.

Northland then took a 2-1 lead in the 13th minute on a penalty kick by Lee Dennis. The shot went low past the left side of Knights goalie Michael Friesenegger. Friesenegger was injured on the kick after diving to make the stop and was replaced by Adam Rosenbaum.

The penalty kick was all the Lumberjacks needed from there out as they finished with the win.

The Knights finished with a 10-8 shot advantage, but Northland edged the Knights in shots on goal 4-3. Both teams had 10 fouls and made two saves.

The Knights travel to take on Augsburg University on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.