The 24th ranked Gustavus men’s soccer team made it three in a row with a 3-0 win over Martin Luther College on Tuesday afternoon in New Ulm, Minn. Mark Adams added another pair of goals, his fourth and fifth of the season, while Brett Ylonen recorded his second straight shutout in net. Gustavus improves to 3-0 overall as Martin Luther drops to 0-2.
“We played very well, knocked the ball around nicely with large amounts of possession,” said Head Coach Mike Middleton after the match.
The Gusties struck within the first 10 minutes of the match for the third time this year, taking a 1-0 lead when Mark Adams knocked in a Jackson Zoellner assist at the 8:52 mark. Zoellner now leads the team in assists with four. The teams would head into the locker rooms for halftime with the score still 1-0 despite Gustavus putting up 21 shots in the half.
Doug Frey broke the ice by putting the ball into the back of the net in the 50th minute, giving the Gusties a 2-0 advantage. It was Frey’s first goal of the season, as Adams was credited with the assist. Adams brought the scoring to a close and the game to a final at 3-0 with a goal at 59:27 off a Grant Steine assist. With the goal, his fifth point of the match, Adams moved into double-figures in points on the season, leading the team with 11 (5G, 1A).
“A very impressive five goals now in two games for striker Mark Adams, who keeps getting himself into excellent scoring positions,” commented Middleton.
The Gustie strikers registered a total of 36 shots in the match, while Martin Luther finished with four. It is the highest single-shot total by a Gustavus team since Oct. 13, 2007 when the Gusties recorded 47 shots against Bethel. Brett Ylonen was challenged just once, making one save in 78:17 minutes. Thomas Schleusener tallied 11:43 in goal in his collegiate debut, turning in one save.
“We created a shed load of chances with thirty or more shots, and the team is certainly proving to be very creative,” said Middleton. “The defense was very solid again with the third straight clean sheet this season, which was very pleasing.”
The Gustavus men’s soccer team will travel to Santa Cruz, California over the weekend for a pair of matches against #14 UC-Santa Cruz on Saturday, Sept. 10 and Cal Lutheran University on Sunday, Sept. 11. Both matches will be played at 2:00 p.m. (Central).
“Tough opponents coming up as we travel to San Francisco to take on perennially ranked Santa Cruz on Saturday, and Cal Lutheran on Sunday. It should be a lot of fun,” stated Middleton about Gustavus’ upcoming matches in California.