The Gustavus men’s soccer team halted its two-game losing skid in dramatic fashion Saturday afternoon by beating Nebraska Wesleyan University 5-1 in non-conference play. The Gusties held a slim 2-1 lead early in the second half when a three-goal outburst within a three minute span put the match away for Gustavus.
Kyle Sadler opened the scoring for the Gusties in the first half with a strong kick into a sea of defenders at the 23:52 mark. Ten minutes later, Chris Adams put up another tally for Gustavus with a goal coming on a penalty kick to put the Gusties up 2-0.
Gustavus held onto its two-goal advantage until the Prairie Wolves bounced back with a direct free kick goal by Colby Twist coming in the second minute of the second half to shrink the lead to one. The Gusties had several scoring opportunities turned away by Nebraska Wesleyan goalie Zach Mergens, but Doug Frey took a pass from Fasil Adinew and booted the ball past the Prairie Wolves goalie at the 65:27 mark to extend the Gustie lead to two goals once again. Evan Odean and Jackson Zoellner followed with goals at the 66:39 and 68:21 marks, respectively, to put the game away for good.
“We played well as a unit today. We are starting to get comfortable with our style of play,” said Gustavus head coach Mike Middleton. “This system allowed our creative players to create and it led to some pretty goals.”
The Gustavus offense provided ten shots on net, with eight different players recording at least one shot. Zoellner and Frey also were each credited with an assist in addition to their goals in the match. In the net, Steve Lundberg provided 90 minutes of solid play, making four saves and allowing only one goal.
With the win, Gustavus is now 2-2 on the season, while Nebraska Wesleyan falls to 0-4. The Gusties are now 7-3-1 against the Prairie Wolves in the all-time series.
Gustavus will open its conference season on Wednesday against Carleton at 4:00 pm in St. Peter.