Freshman defender Brett Day netted his second goal of the season as the St. Thomas men’s soccer team posted a 2-0 victory over the University of Minnesota-Morris Sunday, Sept. 9, at home.

Junior forward Alex Bernhardt fed Day’s goal in the 27th minute.

Day said he would not have had an opportunity if it weren’t for Bernhardt’s play.

“You know it feels good; without the setup, it doesn’t happen,” Day said. “He (Bernhardt) made a good run. I was just in the right place at the right time and put it home.”

The ball bounced around in front of net, as both teams were scrambling to get a hold of it. Day escaped, received the ball and was able to score.

“I just sat in hole, nobody really picked me up,” Day said. “Bernie (Bernhardt) got it set up, we made eye contact, and he put it right on my foot, and I buried it.”

Junior forward Nick Rapisarda scored his third goal of the season in the 84th minute, putting the Tommies ahead 2-0.

St. Thomas showed another defensive effort as sophomore goalkeeper Mitchell Wolff posted his second shutout of the season.

First-year coach Jon Lowery said that he thought that there were many keys to the victory.

“We wanted to continue to refine our play at the top of our opponent’s box to see if we can create chances and then ultimately finish them,” Lowery said.

Although the Tommies are satisfied with their third win, Lowery believes his team could have capitalized on more scoring opportunities.

“We weren’t quite as efficient finishing our chances,” Lowery said. “We created them, but we just didn’t have enough to make it happen.”

After his second home game, Lowery described the crowd as “amazing.”

“This is a fun place to play,” Lowery said. “I think building momentum by winning games, building momentum by showing this campus we have a team to be proud of and building momentum on so many other levels makes this team an important part of this community.”

The Tommies look to win their fourth consecutive match at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12, at St. Mary’s University.

Andrew Eisele can be reached at eise6299@stthomas.edu.