The Gustavus men’s soccer team hosted Colorado College on a cool and windy Saturday afternoon in St. Peter, Minn. The 12th-ranked Gusties defeated the 21st ranked Tigers 2-0 with goals in each half from freshman J.T. Johnson. Gustavus improves to 15-1-2 overall, while Colorado College falls to 14-2-2 overall.
The Gusties took the lead in the 29th minute with a goal from J.T. Johnson. Junior Jeff Aasness dribbled across the field getting through several tackles attempted by the Tiger defense. Aasness layed the ball off to Johnson who took a touch to his left and slotted the ball past the Tiger goalkeeper. Colorado College held a 4-1 shot advantage and a 4-1 corner kick advantage in the first half but only forced Gustie goalkeepr Nate Hitch to make one save.
The Tigers pressed forward in the second half looking for the equalizer. Their best opportunity came when forward Patrick McGinnis got past the Gustie defense and had his shot deflect off the far left post back across the mouth of the goal. Gustie goalkeeper Andy Moulton got a hand on the rebound, but the ball went back to a Tiger attacker. Gustavus defender Jordan Iblings tracked the play across the goal and was able to deflect the next shot out of bounds to keep the clean sheet for the Gusties. In the 78th minute, substitute sophomore Alex Groth tackled the ball away from a Tiger defender and dribbled across the field. Groth passed the ball across the top of the penalty box to J.T. Johnson. Johnson fired the ball into the lower right corner to give the Gusties a 2-0 lead. The Tigers pushed forward serving balls into the attack but the Gustie defense was there to clear them out.
Gustie goalkeepers Nate Hitch and Andy Moulton combined to make four saves to record the team’s 16th shutout of the season.
Gustavus will host Bethel College on Tuesday, November 2 at 2:00pm in the semifinal match of the MIAC post-season tournament. St. Olaf College will host Macalester College on Tuesday in the other semifinal match. The winners will play on Saturday, November 6 with the highest seed hosting. The winner of the MIAC post-season tournament will earn an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.