NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College men's soccer team celebrated Homecoming with a 5-2 win over North Central University (NCU) on Saturday.

Lucas Martin was the star on offense for MLC, scoring his first career hat trick to give him a team-best five goals on the season. 

Xander Heiman led off the scoring in the eighth minute off assists from Isaias Santos and Nathan Pausma, but NCU tied the game 1-1 following a penalty kick in the 35th minute.

Clay Hirsch scored in the 67th minute to give the Knights the lead, and Martin put the exclamation point on the win with three goals in a 15-minute span, including a penalty kick in the 78th minute after the Rams had cut their deficit back to 3-2.

Martin finished the day with seven total shots, including five shots on goal.

Hirsch added an assist on Martin's third goal in the 83rd minute. Santos finished with three shots on goal and a pair of assists. 

Adam Rosenbaum was steady in goal for the Knights, stopping 10 of the Rams' 12 shots on goal. 

MLC improved to 2-6-0 on the season and 1-4-0 in UMAC play with the win. NCU fell to 4-3-0 overall and 2-3-0 in league play in defeat.

The Knights will return to action on Wednesday, October 6, when they play at Crown College in a game scheduled to kick off at 5 p.m.