The Gustavus men’s soccer team battled to a 1-1 tie in two overtimes with MIAC Champion Macalester on the Gustie Soccer Field in St. Peter, Minn. on Saturday afternoon. The Gusties finish the regular season with a record of 14-1-3 overall and 6-1-3 (15 points) in the MIAC, while Macalester finishes up with a mark of 11-5-2 overall and 8-0-2 in the MIAC. Gustavus ends the regular season in a second place tie with St. John’s (7-2-1, 15 points). The Gusties by virtue of a 3-1 win over St. John’s earlier this year win the tiebreaker and Gustavus will host the Johnnies in a MIAC Playoff match on Wednesday, November 5 at 1:00 pm.
Macalester, which claimed its third consecutive MIAC title and seventh in school history, will host either St. Thomas or St. Olaf depending on results in their matches on Saturday.
Gustavus opened the scoring in the important league match with the Scots as Scott Storlie slipped a ball around Macalester goallkeeper Tyler Morken-Simmers at the 26:00 minute mark of the first half. The assist on the goal was credited to Caleb Bousu. The Gusties maintained their 1-0 lead into the intermission.
In the second half, Gustavus held on to its slim 1-0 lead until Macalester junior midfielder Mike Dannenberg drove a rebound off of the leg of Gustavus goalkeeper Pete Moulton and into the net with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation play. The goal was the first that Gustavus had allowed in 857 minutes (8+ games) dating back to the St. John’s game on September 27 in the 75th minute. The Gusties did not allow a goal in seven games in the month of October.
Gustavus junior goalkeeper Andy Moulton recorded five saves in the 110-minute contest, while Macalester senior goalkeeper Tyler Morken-Simmers recorded one save in the match. Macalester outshot the Gusties 8-7. The Scots also held a slim 6-5 advantage in corner kicks.
The Gusties did manage to extend their unbeaten string to 11 matches as a result of tying the Scots. Gustavus has not lost a match since falling to St. Olaf, 1-0 in two overtimes on September 17. Coach Larry Zelenz’s squad has allowed only five goals in 18 matches this season, which is the lowest total in school history. The previous low was nine in 1967. The three goals allowed in ten MIAC matches was the second fewest allowed in school history. The 1985 squad allowed two goals in nine games.
Macalester claimed its third consecutive MIAC Championship and seventh in school history.