SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s soccer team hosted Carleton and took a 2-1 loss on Saturday. With the loss the Gusties move to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
“We were extremely wasteful today,” said Head Coach Tudor Flintham “We hit the post, hit the crossbar and had a bunch of other chances to put the game away. And when you do that at 1-0 you’re always tempting fate. We simply have to be more ruthless.”
Gustavus opened the scoring in the nineteenth minute when Nick Leach (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) crossed the ball into the back post, where Ethan Miller (Fy., St. Cloud) slid in on a shot that was saved before Cole Schwartz (Sr., Jakarta, Indonesia) headed on a rebound for a 1-0 Gustie lead. Carleton responded at the 33:17 mark scoring on a deflection and the game remained tied at the half.
Thirteen minutes into the second half, the Gusties were not able to clear the ball on several occasions and the Knights took advantage of the opportunity, scoring the third and final goal for Gustavus to fall in the 2-1 final.
“We conceded two goals from the same lapses of concentration. They were simple ‘clear your lines’, moments. Very basic stuff hurt us today and we need to learn some harsh lessons quickly, being ruthless in the final third and then taking responsibility and being aggressive in simple defensive moments to reset the game.”
Wesley Sanders (Jr., Urbandale, Iowa) took the loss after allowing two goals and making four saves.
The Gusties are back in action when they host Bethany on Tuesday at 4:00.
“Hopefully the guys respond better in the next game, they’ll show us who we really are over the next two weeks.”