The NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Committee announced the 2004 men’s soccer brackets on Sunday evening. Gustavus, the 2004 MIAC regular season co-champions and 2004 MIAC tournament champions, received a bye in the first round and will host a second round match on Saturday, November 13. University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will host Edgewood College on Wednesday, November 10 in the first round match. The winner will travel to St. Peter, Minn. to play the 12th-ranked Gusties on Saturday, November 13 at 1:00pm.
Gustavus defeated Macalester College 3-0 on Saturday, November 6 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament final to earn its second consecutive national tournament appearance and the fifth appearance in school history. Last year, Gustavus hosted Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament champion Wartburg College in the first round of the national tournament. The Gusties advanced to the second round by defeating the Knights 2-0 in a penalty kick shoot-out. The Gusties then traveled to the University of Redlands to play in a second round game. The Gusties and Bulldogs were tied at 0-0 after 110 minutes of play, so the game went to a penalty kick shoot-out. Redlands defeated Gustavus 4-3 in the shoot-out to advance to the sectional final.
Gustavus ended the regular season ranked second in the West Region by the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Committee with an overall record of 17-1-2. The Gusties have outscored their opponents 44-2 this season and lead NCAA Division III in team goals against average (0.11) and team shutout percentage (0.89).