SAINT PETER, Minn. – Cole Schwartz (So., Jakarta, Indonesia) scored three goals in the first 31 minutes of play Saturday as the Gustavus men’s soccer team took down Carleton 3-1. With the win the Gusties improve to 12-2 overall and 6-1 in the MIAC while the Knights fall to 10-3-1 overall and 3-2-1 in conference.
“That’s a massive win for us against a really strong Carleton team,” said Head Coach Tudor Flintham. “We knew we would have a battle but our guys won a lot of individual battles in the first half and to go up 3-0 on a team of that quality is a cool thing. Cole was on fire today and our squad dug really deep. The work our back four, goalkeeper, and midfield did to make sure we stayed in the game and were gritty when we needed to was huge for us.”
Schwartz got the scoring going early for the Black and gold when he scored just over six minutes in with an assist going to Will Richards (Sr., Hudson, Wis.). He then kept his day going when he scored in the 14th minute, this time with an assist from Max McLaughlin (Fy., Urbandale, Iowa).
His third goal, which came in the 30th minute was set up when Scott Heinen (Jr., Aurora, Ill.) lobbed a pass up ahead that Xander DuMoulin headed out in front of the Schwartz, who was on the right side of the box. Schwartz then let it bounce once and played it off the second bounce with a well struck shot into the top left corner to put Gustavus up 3-0.
The Knights would respond with a goal with less than 40 seconds remaining in the first half to bring the score to 3-1 going into the half.
Half number two played scoreless with Carleton outshooting the Gusties 7-2, but Wesley Sanders (Fy., Urbandale, Iowa) saved the two Knights shots put on net as the Gusties took the 3-1 victory. Sanders got the win, making three saves while allowing the one goal to improve to 12-2 on the season.
The Gusties are next in action tomorrow when they take on Wartburg at 3:30 p.m.