ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s soccer team dropped a close 1-0 decision at St. Thomas on Saturday, falling to 1-7-1 overall and 0-2-1 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, while the Tommies remain unbeaten at 7-0-2 overall and 2-0-1 in the league.
“Tough loss today; a game we could easily have taken something from,” Head Coach Mike Middleton said. “We created several good chances that we should have covered, including hitting the post. However, we conceded a goal that should have been cleared on several occasions.”
St. Thomas scored the lone goal of the game in the 38th minute. The Tommies fired seven shots throughout the game compared to nine by the Gusties. Cody Billings (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) had a header in the 81st minute that hit the post, which was Gustavus’s best opportunity for a score.
Matt Bateman (So., Savage, Minn.) suffered the loss in goal after making three saves.
“We have a quick turnaround with a game on Tuesday and we need to come prepared to play,” Middleton said. “We’ve played the top three MIAC teams in the first three games, and a really tough non-conference schedule. Now we need to settle down and win some games. That will take some mental resilience, but if we play like we did into latter periods of this game, we certainly should do well.”
Gustavus next hosts Saint Mary’s at 4 p.m. Tuesday.