The Gustavus men’s soccer team defeated Loras College 4-0 on Saturday afternoon in St. Peter, Minnesota. Chris Pinahs, Bobby Kroog, Mike Butterworth and Taylor Stein were the goalscorers for Gustavus. The Gusties improved their unbeaten streak to 20 games and are currently ranked 19th in the nation and third in the West Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
Gustavus enjoyed the majority of possession in the first half and created several chances but could not find the net. The Gusties outshot the Duhawks 9-3 in the first 45 minutes of play forcing Loras goalkeeper Erik Smerko to make five saves.
Chris Pinahs opened the scoring for Gustavus in the second half at 57:27. Neil Nelson layed the ball off just outside of the right corner of the penalty box and Pinahs struck a powerful shot into the upper left corner of the goal. Bobby Kroog made it 2-0 when he connected with a Mike Butterworth corner kick. Butterworth made it 3-0 when he stole the ball from the Loras defense and placed a left-footed shot into the lower left corner of the goal. Taylor Stein scored the final goal for Gustavus. Stein took a pass from Alex Groth just outside the six-yard box and placed into the lower left corner.
Andy Moulton made two saves in Saturday’s match to record his second shutout of the season.
The Gusties improved to 3-0-1 overall and will face Nebraska Wesleyan on Sunday at 3:30pm.
In other men’s soccer action, Nebraska Wesleyan and Concordia College battled to 1-1 draw on Saturday afternoon. An own goal by the Prairie Wolves gave the Cobbers a 1-0 lead just 7:26 into the first half. Brian Kronberg equalized for the Praire Wolves at 16:30 in the first half. The game would stay locked at one goal apiece for the remainder of regulation. The teams would play two ten-minute overtime periods with neither team able to score.
On Sunday, Concordia will play Loras College at 1:00pm on the lower field and Nebraska Wesleyan will face Gustavus at 3:30pm on the Stadium field.