ASHLAND, Wis. - The Martin Luther College men's soccer team started strong, but could not slow the Northland College offense in a 5-3 defeat on Friday.

The Knights jumped on top early thanks to a Lucas Martin goal in the 17th minute, and then doubled that lead in the 26th minute thanks to a penalty kick goal by Martin.

The Lumberjacks responded quickly, however, as they scored in the 31st minute to cut the MLC advantage in half, and then added two more goals in the next eight minutes to take a 3-2 edge at the half.

MLC once again started strong in the second half as Clay Hirsch tied the game 3-3 in the 52nd minute, but Northland added goals in the 61st and 76th minutes, respectively, to score the win.

Martin's goals were his first two of the season, while Hirsch's tally was also his first. Martin was credited with a team-best three shots on goal, while Xander Heiman and Noah Kvidt each added two shots on goal.

The Knights finished with 10 shots on goal compared to eight for Northland for the game.

MLC fell to 1-4-0 on the season and 0-2-0 in UMAC play in defeat. Northland improved to 2-5-0 overall and 1-2-0 in league play with the win.

The Knights will return to action tomorrow (Saturday, September 25) when they travel to UW-Superior for a game scheduled to start at 2 p.m.