DULUTH, Minn. – An own goal early in the second half and a shutout defensive performance by the Gustavus men’s soccer team resulted in a 1-0 win over the College of St. Scholastica on Sunday afternoon. The Gusties open the season with two victories on the road, while the Saints drop to 1-1.
“Really good team performance today – we played well,” Head Coach Mike Middleton said. “The lads created a number of chances, and we perhaps should have scored more. A solid defensive display, but with some flair sprinkled in.”
After a scoreless first 45 minutes, which saw four shots by each team, the Gusties took a 1-0 advantage 1:54 into the second half on an own goal, which occurred shortly after a Matt Ouren (Jr., North Mankato, Minn.) corner kick. Gustavus continued to buckle down on defense the rest of the way, turning away 11 total shots by the Saints. Gustavus keeper Matt Bateman (Jr., Savage, Minn.) made four saves in his second-straight shutout.
“The midfield dominated with Matt Ouren looking imperious at times – Matt was the one who created the goal with a lovely, swinging cross that put the defender under tremendous pressure,” Middleton said.
The Gusties outshot the Saints 12-11 and had three more (7-4) corner kick opportunities. All four St. Scholastica corners came in the second half.
Matt Murakami (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Ouren each had two shots on goal to pace the Gustie offensive pressure.
“Arthur Parens (Jr., Wayzata, Minn.) lit up the show second half with his trickery, and Matt Murakami covered every plastic blade of grass – an immense effort from,” Middleton said. “Man of the match though has to be Jarod Petrovic (So., Plainfield, Ill.) – he’s developing into a top top player. This is the first time we have taken a win away from here in my tenure – and, we’ve had some really successful teams in that time – beaten them at home in tight games, but never here. So, that augers well. Well played everyone!”
Daniel Barnes (Jr., Lund, Sweden), Davis Petros (Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.), Petrovic, and Ouren earned spots on the All-Tournament team.
Gustavus next travels to Martin Luther College for a non-conference match 5 p.m. Wednesday.