St. Bonifacius, MN — In one of the most thrilling finishes of the season, Crown men's soccer stormed back through pouring rain on Senior Night to defeat Northwestern in dramatic fashion, scoring three times in the final 11 minutes to claim a memorable 4-3 UMAC victory.
The Polars struck first in the 13th minute when Ashton Hosler found the back of the net off an assist from Trevon Stellmach, giving Crown an early spark despite the difficult weather conditions.
Northwestern answered quickly with a goal in the 16th minute, then added two more in the second half in the 59th and 64th minutes to build a 3-1 lead. With rain still falling and time beginning to run short, the Polars found themselves with their backs against the wall.
That is when Crown delivered a rally Senior Night will not soon forget.
In the 79th minute, senior Mason Graven pulled the Polars within one with a clutch goal off an assist from Tijan de Jonge, bringing new life to the home sideline and crowd. Still pressing for the equalizer, Crown broke through again in the 88th minute when Caden Aldrich scored to even the match at 3-3 and complete the comeback effort.
With just 24 seconds remaining on the scoreboard, Josiah Hoffman delivered the match-winner, capitalizing on a free kick from Carlos Neto to send Crown into celebration and finish off an unforgettable comeback victory in the rain.
The win pushes Crown to 4-6-1 in UMAC play and gives the Polars a huge jolt of momentum heading into the final stretch of conference action. Crown will head downtown this Saturday for another UMAC match up against North Central.
