The Gustavus men’s soccer team bounced back from its disappointing 4-0 loss to Whitworth last Sunday with a convincing 7-0 win over Dakota Wesleyan in St. Peter on Friday afternoon. First year forward Chris Golv led the first half explosion with two goals and one assist. Senior defender Todd Johnson pitched in with the first goal of his career in the 28th minute. The Gusties are now 2-1 on the season.
The Gusties first half scoring spree began in the 26th minute when Chris Golv ran on to a beautiful through ball by Fraser Horton and beat Dakota Wesleyan goalkeeper Brady Schmidt with a ball in the low left corner. The goal was the first of Golv’s collegiate career. Just over a minute later, Todd Johnson made the score 2-0 when he headed in a cross from Max Malmquist. Golv extended the Gustie lead to 3-0 when he drove a ball hard at the net that deflected off a Dakota Wesleyan defender and into the goal in the 33rd minute. Freshman midfielder Doug Frey increased the lead to 4-0 with his first collegiate goal in the 37th minute when he drove a volley off a cross from Golv into the net. Gustavus wrapped up its first half explosion with a goal by Skylar Schultz on a penalty kick in the 39th minute. Max Malmquist was pulled down in the box as he broke in on the Tiger goalkeeper from the left wing and Schultz converted the penalty kick.
Gustavus would add to its lead early in the second half when Sisay Ashenafi took a pass from Jesus Espina-Velosa and beat Dakota Wesleyan goalkeeper Jordan Werner from right out in front of the net. The Gusties scored their seventh and final goal in the 89th minute when sophomore forward Kevin Hein ran on to a long through ball from Dan Jarrett and drove the ball into the lower left corner of the net.
The Gusties, who controlled possession for the majority of the match, outshot the Tigers 28-1. Gustavus used two goalkeepers in the match. Luke Strom made one save in 60 minutes of play, while Steve Lundberg was not required to make a save in his 30 minutes in the nets. For Dakota Wesleyan, Brady Schmidt allowed five goals and made four saves in 45 minutes in the first half, while Jordan Werner allowed two goals and made five saves in his 45 minutes in the second half.
The seven goals scored by Gustavus are the most scored in a game since a 7-1 win over Ripon in September of 2002. The contest against Dakota Wesleyan marked the first time the programs have ever met on the soccer field.
The Gusties will host Marian College on Sunday at 1:00 pm. You will be able to follow live stats from the Marian match at this link.