Men’s Soccer
The Men’s Soccer team was, at one point, ranked eighth in the nation by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). They won their first five games of the year, the team’s best start since 2003.
The Gusties suffered their first defeat to St. Olaf with two minutes remaining in regulation back on Sept. 14, 2011 their only loss of the regular season. From there, the Men’s soccer team finished with nine wins and three ties down the stretch, bringing their regular season record to 14-1-3.
The Gustie Men were, at times, nothing short of dominant as ten of their wins were shutouts and five of their 14 victories were won by a margin of five goals or greater.
Their season ended last week when Carlton dropped them in the first round of MIAC playoffs. At the time of their 1-0 loss, the Gusties were ranked tenth in the nation by D3soccer.com and had hopes of an NCAA tournament berth. They finished the year with a final record of 14-2-3.
Volleyball
The Volleyball team found themselves back in the playoffs this year after finishing the regular season with a MIAC conference record of 7-4, and an overall record of 20-9.
They faced Saint Benedict’s squad in the first round of MIAC playoffs, the two teams’ third meeting of the year; St. Ben’s had won the first two match-ups earlier in the season. St. Ben’s won 3-1, but the contest was closer than the box score may tell, as two of St. Ben’s three sets were won by five points or less.
While the team may consider the first-round loss an early finish, this season was undoubtedly a great improvement over last year’s last place finish in the MIAC. This year’s squad won 13 games more than last year’s team, a clear indication that Head Coach Rachelle Dosch has the program moving in the right direction.
Football
The football team’s season can be summed up as flashes of greatness stymied by inconsistency. The year began with promise, when they traveled to face the then #14 nationally ranked Wartburg College. The Gusties lost 26-21, but in that loss they showed they could challenge good, physical teams.
The Gustavus team that pushed Wartburg to its limits was unrecognizable the next three weeks, as the Gusties were outscored 88-52 over the span of three consecutive losses and they didn’t find the win column until they defeated Hamline 37-0.
The Gusties then had to face three MIAC giants: #16 Bethel, unranked but perennial power St. John’s and #3 St. Thomas. They fell in all three contests largely because of costly turnovers. But, once again, they pushed these three teams to the limit and were a couple key plays away from a different outcome. The football team finishes its season this Saturday, when they travel to Northfield, Minn. to face Carleton.
Women’s Soccer
The Women’s Soccer team finished a disappointing season on something of a high note as they were able to win two of their last three games of the season. Those two late-season wins came against St. Catherine University and St. Thomas.
The future is bright for theGustie women as they lose just one senior, Meghan McMillan, and return their leading goal scorer Amanda Cartony. The Gusties finish their season with an overall record of 5-12.
Men’s & Women’s Golf
Both the Men’s and Women’s golf teams finished in second place at this year’s MIAC Championships.
The Women’s team couldn’t catch up to the red-hot St. Olaf, as the Olie Women had three of their lowest scores in the program’s history at the tournament. First-year Sam Falk was the Gusties’ top performer, ending the tourney with the third-best individual finish. Her performance was the second-best 54-hole total ever recorded in the history of the Gustavus women’s golf program.
Alex Kolquist and Andrew Oakes both tallied top-five finishes for the Men’s team at the tournament. The team as a whole trailed St. John’s by eight strokes entering the final round, but came back strong on the last day to outshoot the Johnnies by nine strokes, edging them out for second place in the conference.