UWS Men’s Soccer Set to Play in Programs First Sweet Sixteen on Saturday

The Jackets went to penalty kicks with Oles, where UWS won 4-2, advancing to their first sweet sixteen in school history.

SUPERIOR, Wis.- The UW-Superior men’s soccer team made their mark on school history this season.

After clinching their eighth UMAC championship and a spot in the Division III NCAA soccer tournament, the Yellowjackets are on to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in program history.

The Jackets faced North Park in the first round of the tournament, where UWS won 1-0.

The following day, UW-Superior faced the defending national champions St. Olaf.

The Jackets went to penalty kicks with the Oles, where UWS won 4-2, advancing to their first sweet sixteen in school history.

The Yellowjackets could count on senior goalkeeper Alex Paredes, who had the game winning save in the game against St. Olaf.

“It’s surreal, it’s honestly the best feeling that you can ever have in sports. You’re doing something you love, that’s not just benefiting yourself, but benefiting the entire program and the program’s history,” said Paredes.

UWS also had help from senior Josh Bellamy who scored a goal in both matches.

“Being a senior and working for four years and finally winning that first game and then win the second game. All of that hard work finally paying off. You can see after the game how emotional a few of the seniors are and all the other boys are. It means so much to us and can’t wait to continue playing with this team,” said Bellamy.

For head coach Joe Mooney and the rest of the squad, having the chance to play one more game together is the mentality.

“It’s not about what round we make it to or the rankings of other teams, or anything like that. What are guys are concerned about is just getting the chance to play one more game with this group of guys. That has been our mentality since we hit the conference tournament, is making sure that we win, so we can get one more game with this group and that’s the same ticket we are going to follow here the rest of the way,” said Mooney.

The Yellowjackets will travel to UW-Eau Claire where they will face Amherst in the Sweet Sixteen on Saturday at 1 p.m.