The Gustavus men’s soccer claimed a share of its fourth consecutive MIAC Regular Season Title with a 1-0 overtime win against St. Thomas Saturday afternoon. The four straight titles won by the Golden Gusties mark the second time in MIAC history the feat has been accomplished. The only other time was when Gustavus claimed four consecutive titles from 69-72. Mike Butterworth (Sr., Katy, Texas)scored the game-winning unassisted goal at 2:07 in overtime. Trevor Brown (Sr., Madison, Wisc.) picked up his seventh shutout in MIAC play making four saves.
Coach Larry Zelenz’s squad entered today’s match giving up a conference-low 0.22 goals per game, while St. Thomas came in scoring a conference-high eight points per game. Gustavus maintained possession of the ball throughout a majority of the contest holding a 8-3 advantage in corner kicks and a 7-4 edge in shots on goal. However, both squads needed an extra period to determine a winner.
Mike Butterworth scored his 12th goal of the season two minutes into overtime on a shot 15 feet out that found the left corner of the net. St. Thomas goalkeeper Dan Hutton made seven saves to keep the Tommies in the contest. Trevor Brown finished the regular season without allowing a goal in conference play to improve his record to 11-1-1, while the Gusties improved to 14-3-1 overall and 9-1-0 in the MIAC. St. Thomas fell to 11-4-3 overall and 6-1-3 in the MIAC.
Gustavus will share the MIAC Regular Season Title with Carleton, as the Knights defeated St. Olaf 2-1. Carleton, who is the #1 seed in the MIAC Post-Season tournament, will face #4 seed St. Olaf at Carleton Wednesday at 3:00 pm in one of the semifinals. The Gusties, who are the #2 seed, will square off against #3 seed St. Thomas Wednesday at 3:00 pm in St. Peter in the other semifinal.