The Gustavus men’s soccer team continued its late-season surge with a convincing 4-0 win over Bethel on Saturday afternoon in St. Peter, Minn. Four different players scored for the Gusties who scored three times in the first half and once in the second half, while goalkeepers Luke Strom and Steve Lundberg combined to post the shutout. Gustavus improves to 8-4-3 overall and 4-1-3 in MIAC play.
The Gusties jumped out to a quick 2-0 scoring twice in the first 20 minutes of play. Justin Eglesder scored the first goal at the 17:41 mark with an assist from Zach Schmith. Egleseder pounced on a rebound of a shot by Schmith and drove it into the net past a diving Leif Sundberg, the goalkeeper for Bethel. Four minutes later, Kyle Sadler found himself the recipient of a rebound from a shot by Mark Adams and he deposited it into the back of the net to extend the lead to 2-0. Doug Frey closed out the first half scoring as recovered a deflected pass in the six-yard box of the Royals and deftly slipped the ball into the net with just 35 seconds remaining in the first half.
Gustavus closed out the scoring in the 81st minute when Frey beat a Royal defender on the end line and sent a pretty pass to a streaking Grant Steine in front of the goal and Steine one-timed a bullet past Sundberg at the 80:09 mark.
The Gusties out-shot the Royals 24-6 in the match including a 17-5 advantage in the first half and a 7-1 advantage in the second half. Luke Strom registered one save in 76 minutes in goal, while Steve Lundberg did not register save in 14 minutes of play. Leif Sundberg, who played all 90 minutes for the Royals, made 12 saves.
It was Senior Day at Gustavus as seven seniors were playing their final regular season home game. The group, which included Ben Ikeda, Luke Strom, Max Malmquist, Chris Adams, Steve Lundberg, Dan Jarrett, and Kevin Hein, were recognized by the Athletic Department and coaching staff for their commitment to the Gustavus soccer program for the past four years. This group has been instrumental in helping the Gusties compile a record of 47-19-8 (.689) overall and 27-7-4 (.657) in MIAC play and were key contributors on the 2007 MIAC Championship team.
Heading into the final week of MIAC regular season play, Gustavus is currently in fifth place with 15 points (4-1-3). The Gusties trail Concordia and Carleton (tied for first place with 19 points) by four points, third place Macalester by three points and fourth place Augsburg by one point. Gustavus, which is in the midst of a six-match unbeaten streak (4-0-2), will play at Hamline on Tuesday at 3:30 and at Augsburg on Friday at 7 pm. The Gusties have out-scored their opponents 11-1 during the unbeaten streak.