BISMARCK, N.D. - Christoffer Nogueira and Aaron Mc Elwee recorded two goals, U-Mary outshot the Hardrockers 22-8, and the Marauders sent their seniors out with their heads held high in the final home match of the season against the South Dakota School of Mines Hardrockers with a 6-1 victory.
 
The first half saw plenty of action from the Marauders; Nogueira recorded the first goal of the game in the 11th minute after he took a pass from Aaron Brennan about five yards in front of the net and beat the keeper one on one with a quick chip over the keeper to give U-Mary a 1-0 lead. Cole Olson got in on the action in the 27th minute after an initial shot from Jordan Pearce was saved, but Olson took the rebound and sent a shot sailing past the keeper for a 2-0 lead.
 
Nogueira kept his production up, giving the crowd something to look forward to in the coming years, as he recorded his second goal of the game in the 33rd minute after Mc Elwee initially took the ball past most of the Hardrocker defense, sent a pass to Olson, and Olson found Nogueira for the quick strike and a 3-0 lead. The Marauders carried the lead into halftime.
 
Things got interesting late in the second half for the Marauders.
 
Early in the second half, the Marauders and Hardrockers fought back and forth with neither team earning much by way of field position.  There was a bit of controversy though, as a corner kick from South Dakota Mines bounced around between a few players, both Marauder and Hardrocker, but a header from Sam LeTempt appeared to be poked away by Nogueira for a team save before it crossed the goal line.  However, the sideline official signaled that the ball broke the plane, similar to what you would see in football, and the Hardrockers started to make things difficult, as they got on the board 3-1 in the 55th minute.
 
The teams battled for field position after that but the levee finally broke on the dam starting in the 89th minute.
 
The offense had been moving the ball well all game but they finally struck gold as Logan Christensen and Alex Boyes bounced a few quick passes on the way to Pearce and Pearce fired off a rocket from about 15 yards in front of the net, giving the Marauders a 4-1 lead.
 
Not wanting to be left out, Mc Elwee stepped his game to a whole other level and got his first goal of the game early in the 90th minute when he singlehandedly beat several Hardrocker defenders and an enthusiastic kick gave the Marauders a commanding 5-1 lead.
 
The Marauders finally had a bit of controversy in their favor; Nogueira took a shot a few seconds after the kickoff and his shot was initially saved, but Mc Elwee was there to send a response past the keeper, but it appeared that the shot didn't break the plane of the goal. However, the best seat in the house made the call and the sideline official again signaled that the shot had scored and what was once a potentially close game turned into a blowout and the Marauders were on top 6-1.
 
Fortunately there was no more action to be had in the remaining eight seconds of the game after Mc Elwee's second goal.
 
Nogueira's two goals came on six and he also had an assist in the match. Mc Elwee capped off a wonderful career with two goals off seven shots and one assist. Pearce earned his goal off two shots, added one assist, and Olson only needed one shot to find the back of the net. Olson also earned one assist.
 
Brennan and Christensen took a combined five shots but neither recorded any goals although both players earned one assist.
 
Michael Frenzel was one close call away from earning his first clean sheet of the year, but he still made two saves for the Marauders and was key in stopping two of the corner kicks from South Dakota Mines.
 
The Marauders finished the 2014 season 5-9-2 overall with a 4-9-1 record in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Some of the more memorable games include a 1-1 draw over #23 Fort Hays State back on Sept. 12 to begin the season, a 1-1 draw over #24 Northwest Nazarene at home, and a 4-1 offensive explosion against Saint Martin's University in a revenge match for U-Mary.
 
Nogueira and Pearce both earned nine goals on the season for the Marauders, Mc Elwee and Brennan both recorded four goals, Olson recorded two, and Boyes, Christensen, Ramsey Blahnik, and Jonathan Sellars each earned one.
 
Nogueira finished the season with six assists, Brennan was right behind with five, Pearce and Brad Kelly both had three, Mc Elwee, Boyes, and Adam Potter all had two, and Olson, Sellars, Christensen, Jack West, Liam Smallwood, and Jayden Mounsey each had one on the year.
 
Frenzel spent part of the year fighting the injury bug, but he was a stalwart in the net for the Marauders as he made 39 saves for a .591 save percentage. In the times that Frenzel was out, West got the start and in his six appearances in the net he made 28 saves for a .800 save percentage.
 
The Marauders improved from last year's standing, and the sky's the limit for this young team as they look forward to the 2015 season.