ARDEN HILLS, MINN.—The Bethel University men's soccer team have won their sixth-straight, and eight of their last nine season openers following a 4-0 home shutout of Northwestern (Minn.) at Ona Orth Complex on Tuesday afternoon. Today's result also marked head coach Jeremy Iwaszkowiec's 100th career victory, who's now in his 16th season leading the Royals dating back to 2011.
The Royals begin the 2026 season 1-0, while the Eagles fall to 0-1.
Bethel 4, Northwestern (Minn.) 0
The four goals were a result of a 21-5 shots advantage for the Royals, who took a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute off a corner kick. After touches from Chris Van Gorder and Roy Kyle, James Oberholtzer found the back of the net, scoring Bethel's first goal of the year.
Bethel scored three times in the second half. Nathan Hunt did the honors, as his goal in the 58th minute gave the Royals a 2-0 lead, and put the finishing touches on his three-point performance.
Freshman Sawyer Owens widened that lead to 3-0 with his first career goal in the 72nd minute. Minty Shady iced the game with a penalty kick goal in the 76th minute, which sealed a 4-0 victory for Bethel.
Eight different Royals recorded a point, led by Nathan Hunt's one goal and one assist. Tadeo Magana had one assist, and finished with a team-leading five shots.
Griffin Blokker had one save in net for Bethel, while Isaac Johnson stopped six shots for the Eagles. Each team was assessed a yellow card.
Bethel will host North Central (Minn.) at One Orthopedic Complex on Thursday, September 3 at 4 p.m.
