Gustie senior Max Malmquist dribbles the ball past a U-W Whitewater defender
The Gustavus men’s soccer team saw its seven game unbeaten streak come to an end against #8 ranked U-W Whitewater with a 1-0 loss on Sunday afternoon in St. Peter, Minn. The Gusties were able to hold U-W Whitewater scoreless until the 73rd minute of the match, when a hard kick in front of the Gustavus goal found the corner of the net to give the Warhawks a lead that they never relinquished.
The Gustie defense provided an impressive performance in holding U-W Whitewater scoreless for the majority of the match. Gustavus was only the second team to shut out the Warhawks in the first half of a game this season, and only one other team had held U-W Whitewater scoreless longer in a match.
Gustavus goalie Luke Strom turned away shot after shot until Warhawks leading scorer Trevor Swentik took a rebound in front of the net and booted a hard kick past Strom at the 73:29 mark to give U-W Whitewater the lead. The goal ended a streak of 362:04 scoreless minutes in net for Strom, who had logged consecutive shutouts heading into Sunday’s match.
Sophomore Lucas Thompson evades a Warhawks defender in Sunday's 1-0 loss to U-W Whitewater
Gustavus tried to answer with a goal of its own and nearly tied the game at the 83:58 mark when Max Malmquist fired a shot on an open net, but the ball sailed just over the crossbar. The Warhawks defense has now shut out opponents in five straight matches.
With the loss, Gustavus is now 7-4-3 overall with a record of 2-1-3 in MIAC play, while U-W Whitewater remains unbeaten this season with an overall record of 10-0-2. The Gusties will host St. Thomas on Tuesday at 3:30 in St. Peter, Minn.