Ryan Tollefsrud Buries Game-Winner In Double OT To Propel Men’s Soccer Past UW-Oshkosh 1-0

St. Peter, Minn. – In what was a knock-down, drag-out battle between two of the top teams in the region, the Gustavus Adolphus men’s soccer team was able to come away with a 1-0 double-overtime victory over UW-Oshkosh thanks to a goal by Ryan Tollefsrud (Sr., Spearfish, S.D.) in the 102nd minute of the match. Although neither team could find the back of the net for 100 minutes, it took just 1:30 of the second overtime session to settle the grudge match. Eric Schneider (Sr., St. Anthony, Minn.) played a cross to a surging Tollefsrud who headed the pass by UW-Oshkosh goalkeeper Nick Barry despite being draped and bore down on by a Titan defender.

“Great win for the lads today against a talented and physically robust UW-Oshkosh team,” said Head Coach Mike Middleton following the match. “This was a top performance against an NCAA Tournament competitor that was ranked in the top 25 all last season and were ranked into national top 25 at the start of this campaign. The WIAC does not get an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, so they were desperate to win this game. This was a ferocious battle with it all on the line.  It was a great win for our lads – if you missed the game you missed a rare treat!”

Gustavus records its third straight win and will now enter MIAC play with an overall record of 6-2-0. UW-Oshkosh drops to 4-2-0 with the loss.

The physicality of the match was apparent early on as both teams went into the afternoon seeking their second victory of the weekend after coming out of their Friday matches victorious. In the scoreless first half, UW-Oshkosh recorded six shots compared to Gustavus’ seven.

“It was a tough battle, especially in midfield where some rum challenges were taking place,” Middleton said. “It was not a game for the squeamish, but we stood tall and still continued to play our style – controlling a lot of the possession and trying to be creative on the ball. They certainly made it tough for us – harried us all over the park with great energy and no little amount of skill.  This was an excellent UW-Oshkosh team.”

Both teams had chances in the second half as Gustavus recorded six shots while the Titans posted five. Middleton once again used both of his senior goalkeepers to combine for the shutout. Braden Schmid (Sr., West Fargo, N.D.) went to work in the first half and Brett Ylonen (Sr., Lake Elmo, Minn.) took over in the second. After Ylonen was taken off following a collision between he and another player, Schmid took back over halfway through the second half. The West Fargo native went on to earn the victory after making five saves and shutting out the Titans in his 85:22 minutes of time between the posts.

“The game was pretty even throughout the first half with it going in ebbs and flows,” commented Middleton.  “However, I thought we started to dominate in the second half especially near the end when it was clear we were getting on top of them.  In overtime we created a couple of nice chances and were pressing hard.  They are a dangerous counter so we were constantly on our toes.”

Gustavus registered two shots in the first overtime and UW-Oshkosh posted one. Ryan Tollefsrud’s header-goal at the 101:30 mark of the match was his first game-winner of the season.

“What a goal to win the game,” said Middleton about the game-winner.  “Eric Schneider combined wide alongside Nick Keiser with Eric delivering a beautiful cross for forward Ryan Tollefsrud. Tolly sprinted across the box to place a bullet header into the back of the net.  It was a great goal, wonderfully crafted by Eric, and wonderfully taken by Ryan. Well played Ryan, that was a goal-scorer’s instinct on display.”

Gustavus finished with a slight edge in shots at 16-to-14 and held the corner kick advantage 8-to-4. UW-Oshkosh goalkeeper Nick Barry suffered the loss after coming up with a total of nine saves.

“The central defense of Elliot Emerson and Patrick Leach certainly stood tall, handling all that was thrown at them,” Middleton added.  “In the second half we started to have more joy releasing full-backs Jason Schwab and Nick Keiser, as well as Sam Leske who shared time with them.  Zach Brown continually looked dangerous up front, and Patrick Roth was always a threat and really worked hard. The midfield of Charlie Adams, David Lilly, Eli Bjerk, and Eric Schneider looked imperious at times. Konnor Tranoris looked like he always had time despite the frenetic nature of the game around him. The two freshman midfield players, Matt Murakami and Isaac Bloom, also played a few minutes right in the heat of the battle and loved every second of it.”

Heading into the beginning of conference play, Coach Middleton is pleased with his squad’s effort during what was a tough non-conference schedule to begin the 2014 campaign. “We’ve come out of that 6-2-0, which is great when you consider the difficulty of the games.  Now we begin our conference schedule and it starts all afresh. We need to take the knowledge of these games as well as the battle-hardened experience into the next phase of the season. But, to concentrate on the present – two great wins this weekend against really good teams.  Savor every moment lads because you have thoroughly deserved it.”

The Gustavus men’s soccer team will begin MIAC play on Wednesday, Sept. 17 with the final contest of its current four-match homestand against Carleton College set for 4:00 p.m.

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