Midfielder Jeffrey Johnson plays the ball up the field.
Sam Barthell takes the ball away from a Johnnie attacker.
Goalkeeper Tyler Garry stretches out to make the save.
Ryan Beduhn dribbles past a Johnnie defender.
The Gustavus men’s soccer team suffered its first defeat of the season falling to St. John’s 1-0 in St. Peter on Saturday afternoon. The Johnnies scored the lone goal of the game on a penalty kick at the 63:45 mark of the contest. Gustavus falls to 5-1-1 overall and 2-1-0 in the MIAC.
The first half ended in a 0-0 tie even though the Gusties held a 11-5 advantage in shots. Gustavus continually tested St. John’s goalkeeper Matt Sundberg with quality shots, however Sundberg answered every challenge and kept the Johnnies in the match.
In the second half, play was much more balanced both teams coming up with solid plays in their own ends to limit scoring opportunities. In the 63rd minute, Saint John’s forward Brian Horst was knocked off the ball by Gustavus defender Flynn Stewart-Franzen inside the penalty area. The referee whistled a foul on Gustavus giving the Johnnies a penalty kick opportunity. Bryan Mills took the penalty kick for St. John’s and his kick deflected off the left goal post and into the net giving St. John’s a 1-0 lead.
Gustavus was unable to find the net in the final 27 minutes of the match and the Johnnies escaped with the important 1-0 win.
Gustavus held an 18-12 advantage in shots and a 9-2 advantage in corner kicks in the match. St. John’s was whistled for 18 fouls, while Gustavus committed 11 fouls. Tyler Garry suffered the loss in the nets for Gustavus. He recorded four saves. Matt Sundberg was the winning goalkeeper for Saint John’s. He made 10 saves.