ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s soccer team’s home opener Saturday was spoiled by St. Schoalstica as the visitors won by a score of 4-1. The loss moves the Gusties to 0-2 overall, while the Saints improve to 1-1 overall.
“Quite an exciting game today, with both teams going at it,” Head Coach Mike Middleton said. “The result could have gone either way, and I was pretty convinced at halftime that the game was there for the taking. We created some good chances and certainly had enough possession to have won the game. But, some early season sloppiness defending set-plays cost us.”
St. Scholastica took an early lead in the 10th minutes as Shawayne Folkes tapped in a well-placed pass from inside the box, which went through the lower left corner of the goal. Ten minutes later, the Saints took a 2-0 advantage with a score off a corner kick, which bended into the net.
Luke Laurich battles for the ball. Laurich scored his first career goal against St. Scholastica. (photo by Roisen Granlund ’17)
The Gusties didn’t waste much time to respond, scoring at the 23:12 mark. Luke Laurich (Fy., Batavia, Ill.) collected a deflection off the crossbar and buried it in the back of the net for his first career goal. John Anderson (Jr., Maplewood, Minn.) was credited with the assist. The two teams played even throughout the rest of the first and went into halftime with a 2-1 score.
The Saints increased their lead in the 56th minute and added an insurance goal six minutes later off another corner kick goal.
Anders Severson (So., Woodbury, Minn.) got the nod in goal and suffered the loss in his first start of the season. He made five saves, while the Saints’ keeper made eight saves. The Gusties outshot the Saints 15-12.
“The players are all working really hard and have had a tough, demanding preseason,” Middleton said. “Hopefully that puts gas in the tank for later on. We knew at the start of the season that we had taken on a tough non-conference schedule challenge, and its not going going to get any easier. Provided we learn from the considerable amount we did well, and change the things we did not do so well then I’m happy. The conference is what we are aiming at, and this is just the aperitif. You play the tough teams to learn and develop.
“Some good performances from players making their competitive debuts today – John Anderson played 90 minutes after a late drop-out through injury of the starting central defender, although he did play the last five minutes of last game. David Almaer (So., Plymouth, Minn.), Jarod Petrovic (Fy., Plainfield, Ill.), and Teriq Canales (So., Oceanside, Calif.) also played well.”
The Gusties wrap up the Gustavus Classic at 3 p.m. tomorrow against Knox, who defeated St. Scholastica 1-0 Friday and is seeking an outright tournament championship.
“Knox looked pretty good last game, and are coming off a days rest,” Middleton said. “It’ll be a tough old game, and a great chance to get back on track for the lads.”