Box Score MANKATO, Minn. - A pivotal two matches in three days stretch for the Vikings men's soccer team against Martin Luther College kicked off Thursday night at the BLC Soccer Field. The matches are so big that the UMAC picked it as the Game(s) of the Week. Bethany used a strong second half performance highlighted by a Juan Garcia goal to win the first contest 1-0.

A scoreless first half was played relatively even as MLC outshot BLC 9-6 and held a slight advantage in shots on goal 4-3.

The Vikings put the pressure on the second half though outshooting the Knights 10-2 and got on the scoreboard less than two minutes into the second stanza. After a yellow card was adminstered to Martin Luther, Michael Loguercio's free kick was blocked, but the rebound went straight to Juan Garcia who rifled his fourth goal of the season into the upper registers of the net for a 1-0 Vikings lead.

That lead would hold up as Ryan Bolte made some nice saves throughout to preserve the shutout win.

Bethany (7-4, 5-2 in UMAC) takes on MLC again Saturday at 2:15 p.m. in New Ulm.