St. Bonifacius, Minn. - Senior Kurt Fickle's goal in the 84th minute was the difference for the Crown men's soccer team in their conference opening win against Martin Luther on Friday night.  Crown's Tanner Fisher earned his first career shutout in the 1-0 victory which was low on scoring, but high on excitement.

For a game that didn't see a goal for well over an hour, the matchup between these two teams was entertaining from the get go.  The Knights had two good shots blocked early in the first half before Crown settled in and had the bulk of posession.  Derick Boese had two near misses for the Storm, sending one shot just high and firing a cracking shot off the right post early in the half.  

Martin Luther's center backs did a fantastic job of keeping Truman Shetler in check, ending the senior's six game scoring streak, and the Knights looked dangerous on the counterattack.
Crown's Angelo Silione and Shay Johnson did an admirable job running down the Martin Luther chances, keeping Fisher from needing to defend all but two shots.  

Crown would have a few more chances in the first half, with Cristian Olarte playing well in his attacking midfield role, but nothing would come of it as MLC's Caleb King stood firm in goal.

The second half would see Crown dominate the run of play, but unable to find a breakthrough against a hardworking Martin Luther defense that blocked at least 10 shots.  Ger Jones had a fantastic final 30 minutes, creating numerous chances with smart decisions and excellent passing, and Crown had a Shetler goal called back for a questionable offsides.

All that set the table for Fickle's heroics.

The senior, cheered on by a large contigent of his football teammates, subbed in at right back at the 60 minute mark and looked solid in his new role.  After winning possession and making a good run up the right side, the ball fell to his feet just outside the 18 yard box.  A pair of deft touches forced the keeper back towards the center of the goal allowing room for the shot to sneak inside the near post.  

Despite the game winner, the football player turned futbol player's work wasn't done.  

Crown almost made it 2-0 on two different occassions, but couldn't convert on the counterattack as Martin Luther sent men forward.  With less than two minutes remaining the Knights found space behind the left side of the Crown defense and it was Fickle who came across the pitch to take the potential game tying shot off the foot of the MLC forward.

Crown will have a chance to test themselves tomorrow against Minnesota Morris.  The Cougars have been a top two team in the UMAC for a number of years and the young Crown side will be looking to make a statement at home tomorrow.  Kickoff for the men's game is scheduled for 2:15 p.m.