WATERTOWN, Wis. -- Lakeland University was too hot to handle this afternoon, as the Sabercats fell 8-1 at home on a day they will want to forget.

Joshua Wright scored the only goal of the game with a crisp shot in the 24th minute, but it was all one-way traffic for Lakeland, who pick up their first win of 2023.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 1-8 Lakeland
• Venue: Maranatha Baptist University
• Location: Watertown, Wis. 
• Attendance: -
• Record: MBU (0-3-0), LU (1-2-0) 

STORY

Lakeland's Michael Barragan got the visitors on the board with two early goals. Lakeland went up 3-0 thanks to their constant pressure in the opening 20 minutes, and right away, the Sabercats knew there was a mountain to climb.

Wright's goal came off of a corner from Mike Davis - after Wright's initial header was blocked, he pounced in the rebound and fired a shot from inside the box that the Lakeland goalkeeper couldn't touch. Just like that, the Sabercats were on the scoresheet.

But the visitors had a ready answer, equalizing just seven minutes later to take a 4-1 lead into halftime. Barragan would go on to complete his hat-trick in the 50th minute, and Lakeland's pernicious pressure produced three more goals before the final whistle. 

Lakeland will conclude non-conference play with a game against Lawrence University before beginning Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play next Wednesday.

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Maranatha Starters: 00- Balyo, 3- Doese, 7- Lemon, 8- Davis (C), 9- Wright (C), 11- Beachell, 12- Greene, 16- Kirchner, 18- Mixell, 19- Miller, 23- Perkins

STATS

• Shot count: Maranatha 4-29 Lakeland
• Wright: first goal of the season
• Last time: Maranatha fell to Lakeland 0-5 in Plymouth, Wisconsin on September 6, 2022
• Series: Maranatha falls behind in the all-time series against Lakeland 18-25-0

OPPONENTS

• Lakeland competes in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NCAA-Dlll)
• Lakeland finished the 2022 season with a record of 3-11-3

NEXT

The Sabercats travel to Ashland, Wisconsin to take on Northland College on Friday at 6:00 p.m. Follow along at mbusabercats.com/schedule.