NORTHFIELD, Minn. – No. 16 Gustavus men’s soccer, ranked No. 1 in Region IX, played the part Saturday afternoon with a 3-0 shutout win at Carleton. The unbeaten Gusties improve to 5-0-2 overall and 2-0-0 in the MIAC with their fifth clean sheet of the season.
Less than seven minutes into the game, Otis Anderson (Jr., Minneapolis) scored what proved to be the game-winning goal on a header, flicked into the box by Ethan Glissendorf (Jr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) and a second assist to Nate Rouaud (Sr., Vail, Colo.). The score remained 1-0 all the way until the 75th minute as Alex Krumenauer (Jr., Otsego) scored on a through ball from Jared Hecht (So., Apple Valley) for a two-goal advantage. And with eight minutes left in the match, Anderson put the game away with a penalty kick goal.
The Gusties outshot the Knights 15-8 while Wesley Sanders (Sr., Urbandale, Iowa) did not face a shot on goal for his fifth shutout of the season.
“Three-to-nothing against the defending MIAC Champions is obviously a result that stands out,” Head Coach Tudor Flintham said. “To score three against a team that good isn’t necessary what you expect, but we were pretty ruthless in a few key moments today. However, I might sound like a broken record but the defensive effort from the boys today was outstanding. We gave up one clear look all game, but the rest of the time the guys were just smothering. Their commitment to team concepts was top class today… counter-shape, communication on assignments and switches, box-mark concepts… I think I counted three times where it wasn’t quite right. But the rest of the other 87 minutes, the guys were flawless.
“We are really proud of the guys today, but obviously we don’t celebrate anything yet. We’ll rest, recover, and we go again.”
The Gusties host Nebraska Wesleyan at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Bravo, Otis! Well done!