ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s soccer team defeated Concordia College 2-1 Saturday afternoon at Gustie Soccer Field, claiming its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory.
The Gusties, (4-3-0, 1-1-0 MIAC), outplayed the Cobbers, (1-4-1, 0-1-1 MIAC) in the first half and capitalized off two rebound goals.
“A very good team performance today, a performance that warms the cockles of the heart,” said Head Coach Mike Middleton. “We dominated the game in terms of possession, moving the ball very nicely at times.The lads created a number of scoring opportunities and looked like a really decent side.”
Leading in shots, 7-2 in the first period of play, Gustavus grabbed the first lead at the 22nd minute. After a Matt Gibbons (Fy., Minneapolis, Minn.) shot on goal, Bradley Williams (Sr., Andover, Minn.) crashed the rebound and put away his first career goal.
“It was a very good first goal from Brad Williams, who pounced on a rebound from a Matt Gibbons shot that was just too good for the goalkeeper to handle. Brad, who was playing right-back, was in the wide-awake-club to gamble on the rebound to finish it nicely. What he was doing in that position so far forward is anyones guess, but we were all pleased that he was. And, it was indicative of the interchange and possession play that was happening that the the right-sided defender should be there to tap the ball home in the six-yard box,” Middleton commented.
After taking a 1-0 lead into the break, the Gusties saw some strong push back from the Cobbers in the second period. Concordia pushed the attack and created opportunities with four corner kicks, capitalizing off one and tying the game at one a piece.
Despite the momentum shift, Gustavus found a way to answer with its offensive leaders. Moving the ball downfield, Arthur Parens (Jr., Wayzata, Minn.) sent a shot that took a favorable deflection off a Cobber defender into open space for an open Matt Gibbons to notch the game-winner and his first collegiate goal.
“Not only a very pleasing team performance, but some excellent individual displays,” said Middleton. “Brad Williams was outstanding, Matt Murakami (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) was top-class in midfield, a man-of-the-match performance. Stellar displays in Dan Barnes (Jr., Lund, Sweden), Joe Brandel (So., St. Louis Park, Minn.) and Cody Billins (So., Farmington, Minn.). And, a real team performance with everyone contributing. An absorbing contest, which was fun for the crowd.”
The Black and Gold return to action with a non-conference match next Wednesday, hosting Viterbo University at 4 p.m.