St. Paul – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s soccer team suffered a 1-0 setback to Macalester College on Saturday afternoon at the Macalester Stadium. A goal by forward Austin Burrows in the 30th minute proved to be all the Scots needed to put away the Gusties for their first loss in three matches. With the loss, Gustavus drops to a third place standing in the MIAC at 10-4-1 overall and 4-3-1 in the MIAC. Macalester joins Gustavus in third place at 8-5-2 overall and 4-3-1 in the MIAC with the win.
“Disappointing result today that effectively ends our two-term conference champions tag,” said Head Coach Mike Middleton. “It was a must win game, but it was not to be. We dominated possession to such an extent that it was a one-sided match for everything but the score. And in the end, that’s what counts. Macalester dug deep and defended for their lives, and you have to congratulate their determination and will to win. They even had to play with 10-men for a period in the second half after having a man sent-off, but they till managed to keep our attack at bay.“
With nearly one-third of the match in the books, Austin Burrows was able to put in the eventual game-winner on an assist from Charlie Spurr at the 29:54 mark.
Gustavus posted nine shots in the first half and five shots in the second. The Scots finished with eight shots – six in the first and two in the second.
“We looked particularly fluid when Charlie Adams and David Lilly were in possession,” said Middleton. “Eli Bjerk had some lovely touches, and you can see that Patrick Roth – once he regains a little more fitness – will be a force to deal with.”
Along with their margin in shots, the Gusties held a 14-3 advantage in corner kicks, which included a 6-0 edge in corner kicks.
“We have now lost four games that we have controlled possession,” Middleton said. “When you take into account that was also the same for our second-round NCAA loss at the end of last season, that’s now the fifth time. We have find a solution to that, and quickly if we are to finish the season well.”
Gustavus goalkeeper Braden Schmid (Sr., West Fargo, N.D.) suffered the complete-match loss. The only Macalester shot that made it on goal was Burrow’s winner. Schmid’s counterpart, Zeke Vainer, picked up the shutout after stopping all seven shots he faced.
“We are struggling to create clear cut chances and we are struggling to force enough panic in the opponent’s penalty box,” remarked Middleton. “Defensively we look solid, but have too often been undone by a second lapse in concentration. The story is us struggling to break down a packed defense defending for all they are worth. We play in front of them, looking very nice but really not causing the problems our high levels of possession would demand.”
“We are going to have to learn to start to win ugly,” Middleton continued. “I don’t think we’ve scored on a tap-in all season. Every goal is worldy and you don’t get wins things like that. We have to get the ugly side of the game right too. We need to put the ball in the mixer than being pretty. The forwards need to start creating chances for themselves, in particular pressuring the defense when they have possession. We saw very little of that today and it’s a bit too easy all around at the moment.”
The Gustavus soccer team will be back on the pitch Saturday, Oct. 25 when it travels to Minneapolis to face Augsburg at 1:00 p.m.
“We have to regroup and focus on the now as we make a push for the MIAC Playoffs, concluded Middleton. “One thing is for sure, no one will want to play us when we’re on. If we click, we can beat anyone. But, if it doesn’t fall into place straight away, we need to see a little more graft, perhaps even at the expense of some of our silky skills.”