The Gustavus men’s soccer team has been selected to host Wartburg College in St. Peter on Wednesday, November 12 at 1:00 pm in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner will play the University of Redlands in Redlands, California on either Friday or Saturday.
Gustavus enters the tournament with a record of 16-1-3 overall, while Wartburg enters with a mark of 14-4-1 overall. The Gusties won the MIAC Playoff Championship to earn an automatic bid into the tournament, while Wartburg won the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoff Championship to earn an automatic bid as well. Neither team won its respective conference title during the regular season.
The Gusties are in the midst of a 14-match unbeaten string that dates back to a Sept. 27 loss to St. Olaf (1-0 in two overtimes). Gustavus beat St. John’s 3-0 in the first round of the MIAC Tournament and then beat regular season champion Macalester 2-1 in St. Paul in the championship match. The Gusties, who have outscored their opponents 44-6 in 20 games this season, are led in scoring by sophomore midfielder Bobby Kroog who has tallied 15 goals and one assist for 31 points.
Wartburg finished second in the IIAC during the regular season with a league record of 6-2. The Knights entered the IIAC Playoffs as the #2 seed and defeated #6 seed Luther 1-0 in the semifinals before defeating #1 seed Loras 3-2 in the championship match. Wartburg enters the tournament having won seven of its last eight matches. The lone setback was a 1-0 loss at the hands of Buena Vista on November 1. The Knights are led in scoring by junior forward Verne Houston who has tallied 16 goals and seven assists for 39 points.
This will be the third meeting ever between Gustavus and Wartburg in men’s soccer. The Gusties won the last meeting between the two teams in 1994.
The winner of the Gustavus match will play the University of Redlands in Redlands, California on Saturday. The other game in the West Regional will feature the University of California at Santa Cruz against Linfield College.
The first round game between the Gusties and the Knights will be webcast on the Gustavus athletic website. The game can be heard by clicking here.
Click Here to view the complete NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship Draw