Chicago, Ill. – The Gustavus men’s soccer team extended its winning streak to three with a hard-fought 1-0 double overtime victory at North Park University under the lights on Friday night. After over 100 minutes of scoreless soccer, the Gusties claimed the important regional win after a David Lilly (So., Maple Grove, Minn.) shot in the 105th minute found the back of the net. Gustavus improves to 3-1-0 overall with the win, while the Vikings drop to 1-2-0.
“The lads fought their hearts out today, deserving everything that received. It was a challenging atmosphere, and the team was clearly up against it. However, our lads stood tall and I’m proud of them,” said head coach Mike Middleton.
Middleton thought his club created excellent chances throughout the match, especially crediting the play of David Lilly, Zach Brown (So., Eau Claire, Wis.), and Grant Steine (Sr., Chaska, Minn.).
“North Park was very direct in style with long-balls constantly hit towards our defense,” commented Middleton. “The defensive pairing of Luke Thompson and Zach Schmith, along with goalkeeper Brett Ylonen really handled everything thrown at them very well.”
After an evenly played overtime session, a game-changing run by Lilly and Steine would allow the Gusties a hard-fought physical victory on the road. Middleton explained, “Grant Steine made a lovely run taking away two defenders before David Lilly broke into box firing a hard shot left-footed towards the goal. The goalkeeper was beaten although the last defender just managed to stretch across to touch the ball on its way to flying into the back of the net.”
“The team and the bench went into raptures, erupting in delirium and charging onto the field to catch up with David Lilly who was celebrating in front of a group of our traveling parents and fans. It was a great moment, a wonderful fighting performance and great result from our lads. Terrific stuff.”
Gustavus keeper Brett Ylonen (So., Lake Elmo, Minn.) picked up the shutout victory in a four save performance. Ylonen improves to 2-1-0 on the season with the win.
The Gustavus men’s soccer team will be back on the pitch Wednesday, Sept. 12 when it travels to Northfield, Minn. to open MIAC play against St. Olaf at 4:00 p.m.