Malmquist is congratulated by his teammates on his first career goal.
Butterworth dribbles past on Ole defender near the St. Olaf goal line.
The Gustavus men’s soccer team opened MIAC play Wednesday with a 1-0 win over St. Olaf. First-year forward Max Malmquist (Salt Lake City, Utah/Skyline) scored the game-winning goal on a pass from junior Flynn Stewart-Franzen (Minneapolis, Minn./Holy Angels) midway through the second half. Senior goalkeeper Trevor Brown (Madison, Wisc./Memorial) recorded his third shutout of the season.
Both teams were able to move the ball up and down the field in a fast-paced first half however, neither squad was able to create many significant scoring chances. Gustavus had the best opportunity of the first half, when Mike Butterworth (Katy, Tex./Robert Service) used a nifty dribbling move to slip past an Ole defender and the goalkeeper and had an open net chance near the right post. Unfortunately for the Gusties, Butterworth’s left-footed shot sailed just wide of the goal mouth on the right side with 6:05 remaining in the first half.
Second half play imitated the first half until Malmquist struck. Stewart-Franzen made a pass to the right side of the field when Malmquist moved passed the defender. Malmquist’s shot went into the bottom left corner of the goal past St. Olaf goalie Kevin Friede at 60:57. St. Olaf had a scoring chance later in the half, but Nathan Langholz’s direct shot was saved by Brown to maintain the shutout.
Gustavus controlled play throughout the match owning a 17-4 advantage in shots and an 8-1 edge in corner kicks.
Gustavus will next play Concordia-Moorhead Saturday at 2:00 pm in St. Peter. St. Olaf will face-off against Saint Mary’s at 3:00 pm in Northfield.