ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s soccer team earned its third consective Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory Saturday afternoon at Gustie Soccer Field, overmatching Bethel University for a 4-0 victory.
“Good result today, and a very good performance,” said Head Coach Mike Middleton. “We certainly started strongly creating a whole cadre of chances off the bat. We managed to get a number of players into the game at various points, with all the lads stepping up to provide good energy.”
Gustavus claimed its first lead following a Bethel penalty inside of the box as they were granted a penalty kick opportunity. David Almaer (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.) capitalized to give Gustavus a 1-0 lead at the 36th minute and tally his first goal in Black and Gold.
The Gusties claimed a 2-0 lead soon after the first goal as Scott Heinen (Fy., Aurora, Ill.) centered a pass for Luke Laurich (So., Batavia, Ill.), who took an impressive left-footed shot past Bethel goalkeeper Jakob Bartels for his second goal of the season. Heinen’s helper stands as his first collegiate point.
“The first goal was a penalty kick after Nolan Garvin (Fy., Batavia, Ill.) drove past his player into the box. Nolan skipped past one, only for he second to take him down – no doubt about that decision. The second goal was after stellar work from Scotty Heinen, who played the ball to the back post for Laurich, who took the chance very well indeed. Leo Spry (Fy., Walker, Minn.) cleared the space with his near post run for Luke at the far post. It wasn’t an easy finish, and he made it look pretty easy,” Middleton commented.
Gustavus outshot the Royals 13-4 and led 4-2 in corner kick opportunities in the first half, taking a 2-0 lead into the intermission.
Matt Gibbons (Fy., Minneapolis, Minn.) and the Gusties started the second frame with a charge. Very soon into the second period, Gibbons made a great individual effort to avoid several Bethel defenders and put home his third goal of the season, giving the Gusties a 3-0 cushion. Cody Billins (So., Farmington, Minn.) added the fourth goal for the home team near the end of the half, cleaning up a corner kick attempt and solidifying the 4-0 win.
“The third goal was a cracker right at the start of the second half from Gibbons. Matt beat three players before bending the ball into the far post – it was a great strike that the keeper had little chance with, and a really good goal for the crowd to enjoy. To be frank then, the game was pretty much over leading to a somewhat prosaic second half,” Middleton said.
Goalkeeper Matt Bateman (Jr., Savage, Minn.) made six saves in net en route to earning his third shutout of the year. Gustavus ended up outshooting the Royals by a mark of 23-6 and held the corner kick advantage at 9-4.
“A nice conference win and an excellent three points,” Middleton commented. “This keeps our winning streak going, the lads are very happy, and we still have twelve conference points on the table to to play for.”
The Gusties, now 9-4 overall and 4-2 during MIAC play, hit the road again next Wednesday as they head to Winona, Minn. for a matchup at Saint Mary’s University.