St. Bonifacius, Minn. – After defeating North Central by a 3-2 score in Minneapolis a few weeks ago, the men's soccer team saw history repeat itself at home on Thursday night.  All five goals came in the first half, with the Polars scoring three excellent goals and then seeing out the win with an assured performance in the second half. 

Crown struck first in this one when Tim Jaeger was played through the North Central defense by Joaquin Silva and opened up his hips for a simple finish to stake Crown to the early lead.  The fluid play of Crown's front three, Jaeger, Silva, and Juan Fernando Arriaga, would give the Rams trouble all afternoon.

Crown doubled their advantage on a classy finish from Pedro Silveira less than four minutes after Jaeger's 17^th minute opener. 

The Brazilian midfielder won possession near the top of the North Central box and showed great poise to open up the target, bending his shot between Ram defenders expertly into the bottom corner for Crown's second. 

Looking to be in full control, the Polars played themselves into some trouble playing out from the back and conceded after losing possession at the top of their own box.  Alex Chacich was the recipient of a tap-in goal after Weston Buckley's run and dangerous ball in the box created an easy opportunity.

Crown's two-goal lead was restored two minutes and 12 seconds later on a fabulous goal from Arriaga. 

Crown won possession near the corner flag and when the ball came back to the middle of the pitch, Arriaga played a sharp 1-2 with Jaeger inside the box to put Crown in on goal.  Still with plenty to do from a tight angle, Arriaga lashed his shot over the Rams keeper and into the roof of the net for an emphatic Crown third. 

The action in the half wasn't quite finished, however, and North Central again closed the gap to a single goal when Buckley scored from a direct free kick, testing Crown's Leo Roque at this near post from a tough angle and scoring NCU's second. 

After six shots from each team, and five goals in the first half, the second forty-five looked much different from the first. 

The two teams combined for just seven shots in the second half, with the Polars limiting NCU to two shots on target.

Special credit goes to Enzo Pittigliani who hardly put a foot wrong all match, consistently winning the ball back for Crown and keeping possession with solid distribution from the back.  Ethan Medina and Luca Kaltenbach, playing his first game in defense, with the contribution of Travis Verkulien in the second half, kept North Central from having any solid scoring chances after the break. 

Roque made five saves in the win.

The win is a big one for Crown as it pulls the Polars to within one point of fourth place Northwestern for the final spot in the UMAC postseason.  The Eagles drew with Minnesota Morris on Thursday and will travel to Crown for a huge matchup on Saturday.  Kickoff for that match is scheduled for 5 p.m.