Ashland Captures 2018 GLIAC Men's Soccer Tournament Championship

Ashland Captures 2018 GLIAC Men's Soccer Tournament Championship

2018 GLIAC MEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. -- The No. 6 Ashland University captured the 2018 GLIAC Men's Soccer Tournament Championship following a 1-0 victory over No. 4 Northwood University in the title match contested on the campus of Saginaw Valley State University. It is the first tournament title for AU since 2010 and first since the resurgence of the program three years ago. The Eagles (8-9-3) will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. 

The Eagles took the lead 24 seconds before the halftime intermission when Haruki Kimura found the back of the net after a pass from John Duldner to break the stalemate for most of the first half. AU continued its momentum as they struck early in the second half in the 51st minute when Justin Libertowski registered his 11th goal of the season to give the Eagles a 2-0 edge.

Ashland took a 3-0 lead in the 66th minute when Yusuke Yasumasu put the game away after receiving a pass from John Duldner as the Eagles cruised to victory. Northwood outshot Ashland by a 17-9 margin but the Eagles put six shots on target compared to only three for the Timberwolves.