LEAD

WATERTOWN, Wis. -- In the 50th meeting between Maranatha and Moody, the ninth-ranked Archers came to Watertown and completed a narrow sweep of the regular-season series, winning 2-1 today in a North Region classic.

Ethan Cooper scored his first collegiate goal in the loss, and Joshua Wright hit the crossbar late, but the Sabercats just couldn't get their chances to go in.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 1-2 No. 9 Moody
• Venue: Maranatha Baptist University
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Attendance: 156
• Record: MBU (3-5-0), MBI (4-3-0)

STORY

The Archers started the game on the right foot, as Samuel Swenson finished a cross from Aiden McHugh to make it 1-0 in the 30th minute.

But this game felt different from Tuesday, as the Sabercats controlled more of the momentum and the ball. Grant Kirchner and Mike Davis came close with a couple of chances, but there was no breakthrough until the 38th minute. The goal came when Braeden Hansel served a free kick into the Archer penalty area. After a touch from an Archer defender, Cooper slapped a shot with his left foot off the post and in. Tie game.

When the second half started, it was clear that the game could go either way. Unfortunately for Maranatha, it fell Moody's direction when Jake Fultz sprinted into the Sabercats' penalty area off a pass from McHugh and buried a shot into the top-right corner.

But the Sabercats continued to look for the second equalizer. And they almost had it when Wright clipped a shot from 30-plus yards out over the goalkeeper's reach. When Wright's attempt crashed off the crossbar, it was clear that this just wasn't the Sabercats' day.

After 90 minutes of classic NCCAA North Region action, the Archers had secured the win, the sweep of the regular-season series, and their fourth consecutive victory in the 2021 season.

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Maranatha Starters: 00- Balyo, 2- T. Holloway, 3- Elms (C), 5- Jones, 7- Cripps, 9- Wright (C), 11- Cummins, 16- Kirchner, 20- Cooper (C), 21- Hansel (C), 23- Perkins

STATS

• Shot count: Maranatha Rosters 8-12 Moody
• Cooper: First career goal
• McHugh: 2 assists
• Ian Balyo: 5 saves
• Last time: Moody won 3-1 in Chicago on Tuesday
• Series: Moody leads the all-time series against Maranatha 36-14 

OPPONENTS

• Moody competes in the North Region in the NCCAA DII
• Moody did not participate in a regular season in 2020
• Moody began their season with the North Region tournament and won each game they played

NEXT

The Sabercats will host Emmaus on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. in another North Region game. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.