The Gustavus men’s soccer team dropped its 2010 home opener to Central College 3-1 on a rainy Friday afternoon in St. Peter. Central jumped all over the Gusties early scoring three times in the first 20 minutes of play and held on for its ever win over Gustavus in the fourth game in the all-time series. Justin Egleseder scored the lone Gustie goal in the 74th minute with an assist from Doug Frey. With the loss, Gustavus drops to 1-2 on the season, while the Dutch improve to 2-1.
Central took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Brett McKenzie just 39 seconds into the match. Midway through the first half, the Dutch increased their lead to 3-0 on goals by Nick DeLucia in the 18th minute and Cody Jandik in the 21st minute. Central, which led 3-0 at the intermission, outshot the Gusties 9-7 in the first half.
Gustavus would score the lone goal of the second half when Egleseder found the net in the 74th minute. The Gusties held a 4-2 shot advantage over Central in the final 45 minutes. Both teams registered 11 shots on net in the match.
Steve Lundberg suffered the loss in the net for Gustavus. He made three saves and allowed three goals. Tim Maggard picked up the win in the net for Central as he recorded seven saves and allowed one goal.
The match was played in very wet conditions with heavy rain coming down for a majority of the second half.
Gustavus will remain home to host Nebraska Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon at 4:30 pm.