Game Information:
Date: Saturday, September 26
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: St. Peter, Minn. | Gustie Soccer Field
Playing Surface: Natural Grass
Live Coverage: Live Stats
ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s soccer team will look to rebound from its first loss of the 2015 season on Saturday when it hosts the University of St. Thomas at 1 p.m. on the Gustie Soccer Field. The Gusties enter the game with a record of 5-1-0 overall and 0-1-0 in the MIAC, while the Tommies come to town at 5-2-0 overall and 1-1-0 in the MIAC.
Gustavus comes into the game after suffering its first defeat of the season this past Saturday in a 4-2 home loss to MIAC-foe St. Olaf College. The Oles made the most of an early opportunity, as senior forward Aaron Stets put the visitors on the board with an unassisted goal less than one minute into the game. Then, nearly 20 minutes later, the Oles’ Tylor Rosera found the goal after a scrum in front of the net following a corner kick from teammate Brenden Johnson. St. Olaf made it 3-0 on a similar play at 34:32, as Johnson booted another corner kick, with Kevin Skrip putting it through for his third goal of the season.
The Gusties wouldn’t go quietly, however, and the combination of Patrick Roth (Jr., Stillwater, Minn.)/Eli Bjerk (Sr., Stillwater, Minn.) brought the Gusties within two at 37:56, making it a 3-1 Ole lead going into halftime. In the second half, the Gusties continued to build on the momentum they had gained near the end of the first, and six minutes in, got their second goal of the game on an impressive left-footed kick from first-year Arthur Parens (Wayzata, Minn.) at 51:34. From that point, the Gusties continued to control much of the possession, but sloppy play in the final 15 minutes led to two Gustavus yellow cards that resulted in penalty kicks for the Oles. First-year goalkeeper Anders Severson (Lino Lakes, Minn.) managed to keep the first out, but couldn’t save the second, and Skrip scored his second goal of the game at the 80 minute mark to secure a 4-2 win for the Oles.
St. Thomas also enters the game coming off a loss, as the Tommies were defeated 3-2 by St. Scholastica this past Sunday in St. Paul, Minnesota. St. Thomas jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a Miles Stockman-Willis goal in the 36th minute and a Mark Hedt penalty kick goal in the 43rd minute. However, despite trailing 2-0 after 45 minutes, the Saints out-shot the Tommies 5-4.
The Saints cut the St. Thomas lead in half in the 58th minute when they were awarded a penalty kick and senior captain Tom Corcoran stepped up and buried his fifth PK goal of the season. In the 73rd minute, Corcoran struck again with the equalizer and just over four minutes later, Corcoran gave himself a hat trick when he drilled a free kick into the goal to give St. Scholastica a 3-2 lead and eventually, the win.
Saturday’s meeting will be the 61st meeting between Gustavus and St. Thomas in men’s soccer. The Gusties hold a slight advantage in the all-time series with a 27-22-11 record against the Tommies, with the last result being a 1-0 victory for Gustavus on October 11, 2014 in St. Peter.