SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s soccer team scored two goals in the first 18 minutes Saturday at home against Saint John’s and never looked back in a decisive 5-0 victory. The No. 7-ranked Gusties remain unbeaten this season at 6-0-2 overall and 3-0-0 in the MIAC, while the Johnnies drop their first game and are now 4-1-2 overall and 1-1-0 in the league.
Owen Johnson (Jr., Apple Valley) scored what proved to the be the game-winning goal 11:46 into the game with the help of Rivaldo Pena (Fy., Rochester). Six minutes later, Alex Krumenauer (Jr., Otsego) tallied his third goal of the season, assisted by Otis Anderson (Jr., Minneapolis). In the 35th minute, Raphael Cattelin (Jr., Edina) scored his first goal of the season with an assist from Johnson and the score remained 3-0 at half.
The Gusties appeared to have locked in a 3-0 final decision, but with 4:11 left in the game, Johnson intercepted a pass at midfield, weaved through two defenders and scored his second goal of the game (team-leading fourth of the season). And for good measure, Jack Knight (Jr., Verona, Wis.) found Ethan Miller (So., St. Cloud) for an easy tap-in goal with 39 seconds left in the game.
The Gustie defense was dominant again with its sixth shutout of the season, allowing just two shots on goal as Wesley Sanders (Sr., Urbandale, Iowa) made saves on both shots he faced. The Gusties outshot the Johnnies 14-9 and had a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks.
“Honestly the recipe right now for us is really simple. When we are humble and hungry; when we are serious and recognize that every team in this league is dangerous and can hurt you, it sharpens us and we are really good,” Head Coach Tudor Flintham said. “We had a fantastic prep week headed into this game and the guys were just laser focused on the details of our plan and very aware of what SJU would bring.
“Saint Johns is an incredibly dangerous team and also undefeated so full of confidence. They present problems in all game phases and are really difficult to break down as well. So to get a 5-0 win against a team that good who is also highly ranked, is probably unexpected but also a testament to our preparation and how seriously our guys took this challenge.
“You can’t really highlight individuals in a performance and result like that, especially when the team grinds out another clean sheet and shows a defensive unit commitment. But I will say, if anyone watched Owen’s second goal, it summed up the level he and many of our guys were at today. We were really good today. We’ll enjoy a nice day off. But then we turn the page and realize that we have another target to focus on for Wednesday.”
Gustavus next travels to Saint Mary’s for a 7 p.m. MIAC matchup on Wednesday.