The Gustavus men’s soccer team stayed in contention for the 2005 MIAC regular season title with an important 1-0 win over Hamline in St. Peter. The Gusties and Pipers entered the match tied for second place in the league standings one point behind Macalester. Bobby Kroog scored the game winner thirteen minutes into the second half.
The first half was very evenly played. It took a while for the two teams to get acclimated to the cold and windy conditions. Gustavus outshot Hamline 6-1, but neither team could maunufacture a significant scoring opportunity. Piper goalkeeper Andrew Clement recorded four saves, while the Gusties’ Tyler Garry posted one save.
The Gusties slowly took control of the match in the second half by controlling the midfield. The big break in the game for Gustavus came at the 63:16 mark when senior central defender Jordan Iblings drove an indirect free kick to the far post from 18 yards out that senior midfielder Bobby Kroog headed past Hamline goalkeeper Clement for what turned out to be the game winner. Iblings and Kroog have teamed up to score several crucial goals for the Gusties this season. The goal, which was Kroog’s ninth of the season made him the team leader in goals scored. Caleb Bousu is in second place with eight.
Gustavus continued to control the midfield for the remainder of the match, however each team would create one strong scoring opportunity in the final seven minutes of play. Piper freshman defender Jason Werthman re-directed a pass from eight yards out that Gustavus goalkeeper Garry scrambled to cover with 6:15 left in the match. The Gusties would counter with a nifty give-and-go that gave Caleb Bousu a point blank shot on net from six yards out that Clement deflected out of the box with his right hand.
Gustavus outshot Hamline 9-2 in the match and the Gusties held a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks. Gustavus committed 16 fouls compared to 15 fouls for Hamline. Andrew Clement recorded six saves for the Pipers, while Garry, who posted his fifth shutout of the year, turned away two shots.
The Gusties hold a 44-3-4 advantage in the all-time series with Hamline and are 22-0-1 against the Pipers dating back to 1982. Today’s match was the final home regular season contest for one of the most talented senior classes in Gustavus men’s soccer history. The group, which includes Bobby Kroog, Grant Morlock, Jon Astry, Jordan Iblings, Chris Pinahs, Tore Johnston, Jeff Aasness, and Caleb Bousu has compiled a mark of 56-9-12 overall and 28-5-6 in the MIAC during their careers.
Gustavus, which improves to 10-2-3 overall and 6-1-2 in the MIAC, will travel to Colorado Springs, Colorado to face Augustana (Ill.) on Sunday and Colorado College on Monday. Hamline, which falls to 9-4-2 overall and 5-2-2 in the MIAC will host St. Olaf next Wednesday.