St. Bonifacius, MN — With the fog rolling onto the field and the rivalry atmosphere building throughout the night, Crown men's soccer delivered a thrilling conference victory Wednesday evening, defeating North Central in dramatic fashion at home.
The Polars wasted little time getting on the board. In the 14th minute, Ashton Hosler found the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season off an assist from Jared Hernandez, giving Crown an early spark.
Crown struck again in the 27th minute when Mason Graven netted his first goal of the year on an assist from Carlos Neto, pushing the Polars in front 2-0. North Central answered with a goal before halftime, however, sending the teams into the break with Crown holding a 2-1 advantage.
With the fog settling in and the intensity rising, the second half brought even more drama. The Polars looked poised to finish off the victory until the Rams broke through again in the 81st minute, tying the match at 2-2 and setting up a tense finish. Aidan Quandt came through with the decisive moment, scoring his first goal of the season to lift the Polars back in front and secure a memorable conference win on their home field.
The Polars will look to carry that momentum into their next conference test on Saturday, when they travel to St. Paul to face the University of Northwestern at 4:30 p.m.
