HANCOCK, Mich. -- The Finlandia Lions completed the sweep of the season series on a cold Michigan afternoon, beating Maranatha 2-0 with a goal in each half.

The Sabercats will now turn their attention back home for a stretch of three straight home games heading into the NCCAA North Region Tournament.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 0-2 Finlandia
• Venue: McAfee Field - Finlandia University
• Location: Hancock, Michigan
• Attendance: 41
• Record: MBU (4-8-1), FINNU (7-4-3) 

STORY

Finlandia scored first, capitalizing on a counter-attack chance in the 15th minute. The rest of the first half was touch and go, as the Sabercats couldn't create any consistent chances. On the defensive end, Ian Balyo made a couple of big saves to keep the Lions somewhat caged. 

At halftime, the match was locked up at a tight 1-0 scoreline. 

Just six minutes into the second half, Finlandia scored from a free kick that took a deflection near the Sabercats' goal, and it was just the break the hosts needed to capture the momentum. The Sabercats had a mountain to climb and just 40 minutes to climb it.

Aaron Jones fired off three shots in the second half to try to rally the Sabercats, but the one that was on target was kept out by Jeremiah Amador in the Finlandia net.

It was another windy loss for the Sabercats, who will look to regain momentum in the next couple weeks as the North Region Tournament approaches.

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Maranatha Starters: 00- Balyo, 2- T. Holloway (C), 5- Jones, 7- Lemon, 8- Davis, 9- Wright (C), 10- Schmidt, 11- Beachell, 16- Kirchner, 20- P. Holloway, 23- Perkins

STATS

• Shot count: Maranatha 5-21 Finlandia
• Jones: 3 shots, 1 shot on goal
• Ian Balyo: 7 saves
• Last time: Maranatha fell at home to Finlandia 2-3 on Oct. 1, 2022
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Finlandia 4-3

OPPONENTS

• Finlandia competes in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (NCAA Dlll)
• Finlandia finished the 2021 season with a record of 6-12-0

NEXT

The Sabercats return to Watertown to take on Ripon College on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. Follow along at mbusabercats.com/schedule.