ST. PETER, Minn. – For the first time since 1982, the Gustavus Adolphus men’s soccer team began conference play with two straight losses, as it was defeated by the University of St. Thomas on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 2-1. The loss moves the Gusties to 5-2-0 overall and 0-2-0 in the MIAC.
“Not the best result today, after conceding another early goal from an innocuous situation…that was frustrating, and then we were running uphill which isn’t easy,” said Coach Mike Middleton. “We looked good at the start of the season, and it was against very good teams, but their style was to build and maintain possession – similar to us. The last two teams we’ve played have been relatively direct and physical, and we’ve come of second best both times. We’ve got some young lads out there, and they are going to have to learn quickly to deal with that side of the game.”
Tommie senior forward Pierce Erickson got the scoring started for St. Thomas with an unassisted goal at 18:23. The goal was his sixth of the season, which ties for the MIAC lead.
“Their first goal came from a long, through-ball that our central defender failed to cut out, and then the covering player was out-muscled,” said Middleton. “Disappointing, but something we can certainly learn from.”
No more scoring occurred until 72:30, when the Tommies made it a 2-0 lead off a goal from Matt Bouche, which was assisted by Jamie Collins.
“Their second came after we had good possession and lost it in a dangerous area, with the player out of position,” said Middleton. “Once again, somewhat easily rectifiable and just part of the game.”
Gustavus gave its fans a glimmer of hope in its Homecoming game, when Konnor Tranoris (Sr., Des Moines, Iowa) scored the Gusties’ first goal at 81:51 off an assist from Charlie Adams (Sr., Stillwater, Minn.). The goal was Tranoris’ first of the season and cut the Tommie lead in half with nine minutes yet to play.
“I was very pleased with our goal,” said Middleton. “It was a nice through ball to Konnor who finished very well. We just need to continue working on putting ourselves in those types of situations more consistently.
I thought Matt Ouren did very well in midfield, and another first-year, Davis Petros, did very well before having to go off with a muscle injury – he’s quick, good on the ball, and makes nice decisions in possession, which are great traits to have,” added Middleton. “Anders Severson continues to do well in goal as well, which is a nice bonus. Several other players had some good performances including Henry Brose.”
Severson (Fy., Lino Lakes, Minn.) suffered the loss between the posts for Gustavus after allowing the two goals and making two saves. He is now 5-2-0 on the season with a 0.88 goals against average.
“The MIAC features a pretty direct, up-and-at-you style,” said Middleton. “It is what it is, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, it is not our modus operandi – we get the ball down and play, however, we need to be able to cope with that pressure. That’s not easy though – it’s a learning curve and we are certainly in that process. We’ll work on getting back to the team playing as a unit rather than a few nice cameos. Good performances come as result of many different issues – it’s never just one thing. We have to work at improving all around.”
The Gusties will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Winona, Minnesota for an MIAC matchup with Saint Mary’s University (3-4-1, 0-2-1 MIAC). That game will begin at 7 p.m.