The Gustavus men’s soccer team defeated Augsburg 1-0 in the semifinals of the MIAC playoffs on Tuesday afternoon in St. Peter. Ryan Beduhn (Jr., St. Cloud, Minn.) scored the game-winning goal in the 48th minute and Gustavus held on over the next 42 minutes for the win. Augsburg’s season comes to an end with an overall record of 13-3-3. Gustavus improves its record to 16-2-1 overall.
The Gusties had 14 shots on goal in the first half and controlled most of the offensive play, however Augsburg goalkeeper Pascaul Venter recorded eight saves and the Auggies turned away every chance.
Gustavus came out in the second half and took a 1-0 lead when Beduhn scored in the 48th minute. Mike Butterworth (Jr., Anchorage, AK) hustled after the ball, which was on the baseline, and kept it from going out of bounds. He then passed it across the face of the net to Beduhn, who booted the ball into the top corner of the net for a goal.
The Gusties had a multitude of scoring opportunities throughout the game, but Venter played exceptionally well in net to keep the Auggies in the game. Gustavus got one of its best opportunities in the 53rd minute when Alex Groth (Sr., Waupaca, Wisc.) made a great effort to beat a couple of Augsburg defenders and got a pass off to Jack Underwood (Jr., Fergus Falls, Minn.). Underwood, who received the pass in front of the net, kicked a hard shot on net, however Venter made a terrific jumping save. The Auggies turned up the offensive pressure near the end of the match, but keeper Tyler Garry (Sr., Sioux Falls, SD) and the Gusties held on for the 1-0 victory.
Beduhn led all players with six shots in the game, while Jeffrey Johnson (Jr., Tonka Bay, Minn.) and Groth each had three shots. Venter stopped 11 shots in the game, while his counterpart, Garry, saved two shots, both of which came in the second half. The Gusties held a 20-4 advantage in shots and a 4-3 advantage in corner kicks.
Gustavus is now 5-0-1 all-time in the four-year history of MIAC playoff matches. This will be the third time in four years that the Gusties have reached the finals.
#2 Gustavus will face #4 Hamline in the finals of the MIAC playoffs on Saturday in St. Peter, Minn. Hamline defeated St. John’s 1-0 on Tuesday to advance to the finals.