The Gustavus men’s soccer team won its fifth consecutive match while defeating conference rival St. Thomas 2-0 in St. Peter. Junior Mike Butterworth scored both of the goals in the first half for the Gusties. Gustavus improves to 10-1-1 overall and 6-1-0 in the MIAC. The Tommies fall to 9-3-2 overall and 4-2-1 in the conference.
At the 12-minute mark of the match Butterworth (Jr., Anchorage, AK) received a pass and found himself one-on-one with the St. Thomas keeper, Daniel Hutton. Hutton jumped out of the net to play the ball and got his hands on Butterworth’s kick. However, Hutton was unable to control the rebound and Butterworth managed to kick the ball in for a 1-0 Gustavus lead. Matt Strom (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.) assisted on the goal.
The Gusties had another great opportunity at the 27-minute mark when Alex Groth (Sr., Waupaca, Wisc.) and Ryan Wright raced after the ball, which was headed for the St. Thomas net. Groth was able to win the race but his kick sailed just high of the net. Another great scoring opportunity for Gustavus came just minutes later when Butterworth was denied his second goal by hitting the post.
Butterworth managed to get his second goal of the game in the 43 minute when Daniel Suchy (Sr., La Cross, Wisc.) threw the ball in from the corner and after the ball was tipped by Neil Nelson (Sr., Edina, Minn.), Butterworth managed to head the ball into the corner of the net for a 2-0 Gustie lead.
In the second half, St. Thomas got more scoring opportunities but the Gustavus defense was able to break up anything the Tommies started. The Gusties held a significant advantage in shots (13-4) and corner kicks (5-2). Tyler Garry (Sr., Sioux Falls, SD) made one save for his seventh shutout of the season. Hutton and Carlos Castelan combined to make six saves for St. Thomas.
The Gusties will host Central College on Saturday for a non-conference match that is scheduled to start at 3:30pm.