WAUWATOSA, Wis. -- The Sabercats lent a hand tonight, scoring two own goals in a 4-0 loss to Wisconsin Lutheran in a game moved last-minute to Wisconsin Lutheran High School.

The Warriors, who were just one win shy of clinching the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference regular season title last year, move to 5-2-2 on the season while Maranatha falls to 1-7-0.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 0-4 Wisconsin Lutheran
• Venue: Zeitler Stadium - Wisconsin Lutheran High School
• Location: Wauwatosa, Wis. 
• Attendance: 84
• Record: MBU (1-7-0), WLC (5-2-2) 

STORY

The Warriors piled the pressure on the Sabercats early on, and Ian Balyo came up big in the opening 10 minutes, making a spectacular save from a close-range Warriors shot to keep the hosts off the scoresheet.

But Wisconsin Lutheran's early pressure paid off, as Hector Cervantes curled in a free kick from 22 yards away to open the scoring with a beautiful effort. The Warriors scored one more before the break and entered halftime with a two-goal lead.

The second-half scoring went to Wisconsin Lutheran, but it was Maranatha who put the finishing touches on the goals, much to the Sabercats' chagrin. Maranatha scored almost duplicate own goals just 20 minutes apart, as two crosses came in from the right side only to be unintentionally finished into the right corner by Maranatha defenders.

Wisconsin Lutheran continued to test Balyo in goal, but Balyo withstood five of the Warriors' seven shots on target.

With what could be their toughest test of the season behind them, the Sabercats will look forward to next Tuesday's trip to Andrews University and what could be their second win of that series this season.

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Maranatha Starters: 00- Balyo, 2- T. Holloway, 3- Doese, 8- Davis (C), 9- Wright, (C), 11- Beachell, 12- Greene, 16- Kirchner, 18- Mixell, 19- Miller, 22- Broere

STATS

• Shot count: Maranatha 2-22 Wisconsin Lutheran
• Last time: Maranatha fell to Wisconsin Lutheran 5-3 to close out the 2022 season on October 29. 
• Series: The all-time series is now tied 21-21-0

OPPONENTS

• Wisconsin Lutheran competes in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NCAA-Dlll)
• Wisconsin Lutheran finished the 2022 season with a record of 10-3-5
• Wisconsin Lutheran was just one win shy of finishing the regular season in first in the NACC in 2022, but amazingly, they did not qualify for the NACC Tournament

NEXT

The Sabercats travel to Berrien, Michigan, where they will face Andrews University on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. EDT. Follow along at mbusabercats.com/schedule.