The Gustavus men’s soccer team defeated Bethel University 5-2 on Saturday afternoon and earned a share of the MIAC regular season title with St. John’s. The Gusties, who have now shared three consecutive MIAC regular season titles, finished with a league mark of 9-1-0. Gustavus, which is the #2 seed, will open MIAC Tournament play on Tuesday, Oct. 31 against #3 seed Augsburg in St. Peter at 2:00 pm. The match will be video streamed through the Gustavus website.
The Gusties got off to a fast start in the match scoring three goals in the first half, while holding the Royals scoreless. Mike Butterworth picked up the first two goals as he gave Gustavus a 1-0 lead at the 15:02 mark when he knocked in a corner kick from Ryan Beduhn. Butterworth tallied his second goal in the 25th minute when he knocked in another corner kick this time the corner was taken by Jeffrey Johnson. The Gusties extended their lead to 3-0 when freshman midfielder Fraser Horton scored the first goal of his collegiate career at the 34:06 mark. Matt Broin was credited with the assist as Gustavus scored its third goal of the half off a corner kick.
Senior forward Alex Groth gave the Gusties a 4-0 lead when he registered an unassisted goal in the 51st minute.
Bethel cut the lead to 4-1 when Abe Voyen scored an unassisted goal at the 61:41 mark.
Gustavus struck right back as Ryan Beduhn scored his first goal of the season in the 66th minute.
The Royals closed out the scoring late in the match when Chris Solie scored in the 84th minute off a corner kick from Abe Voyen.