The Gustavus men’s soccer team suffered it first defeat of the season at the hands of St. Olaf by the score of 2-1 on Wednesday afternoon in St. Peter, Minn. St. Olaf’s David Rosenthal scored the game-winning goal with just 2:17 left in the match to lift the Oles past the eighth-ranked Gusties. Gustavus falls to 5-1-0 overall and 0-1-0 in the MIAC, while St. Olaf improves to 5-0-0 overall and 1-0-0 in the MIAC.
“We were very tired after the California trip – it was very mentally and physically draining,” said Head Coach Mike Middleton. “But we battled well in the second half and had a lot of chances. We have to recover and start again.”
The Gusties outshot the Oles 18-to-14 in the contest. Three shots made in through to goalkeeper Harry Ullmann who made two saves in the victory.
The Oles jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Blake Dressen buried a David Rosenthal cross on a 3-on-2 rush nine minutes into the contest.
Gustavus responded with the equalizer 20 minutes later when Jackson Zoellner found Zack Brown in the clear at the left wing. Brown took the pass on his left foot and fired one-timer into the bottom right corner of the net for the goal. Zoellner now has a team-high five assists on the year, while Brown has scored three goals.
The two teams would play scoreless soccer until the St. Olaf game-winner late in the match. Kenzie Lund and David Rosenthal took advantage of a 2-on-1 break, forcing goalkeeper Brett Ylonen to come out of the net and make a play on the ball at the top of the box. Rosenthal then slipped the ball pass a sliding Ylonen for the go-ahead goal.
Gustavus refused to lie down after the Ole goal, gaining a corner kick opportunity with less than a minute to play. Zack Brown came inches away on the corner when his header hit the bottom of the cross bar, falling to the grass in front of the net and being cleared away by the Oles.
Goalkeeper Brett Ylonen suffers the his first loss of the season, allowing two goals and making five saves. He is now 4-1-1 on the year.
The Gustavus men’s soccer team will look to get back on track against MIAC opponent Concordia College on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 2:00 p.m. in St. Peter, Minn.
– It was almost eight years ago to the day that Gustavus suffered its first loss of the season after starting 5-0-0. Coincidentally, it was also St. Olaf handing the Gusties the loss. The Oles edged the Gusties 1-0 in double-overtime on Sept. 17, 2003, on a goal by Ryan Franz in the 106th minute.