Emma Esteb – Staff Writer
This past Saturday, Sept. 24, Gustavus men’s soccer team continued their winning streak by defeating Saint John’s 5-0. The Gusties scored two goals within the first 18 minutes of the game and continued to carry that momentum until the final minutes. The team is now ranked seventh with a record of 6-0-2 and 3-0-0 in the MIAC. “We came out really strong and I think it was in the back of everyone’s minds that we had lost to Saint John’s last year and they had ended our season so we just came out hungry,” Senior Otis Anderson said.
The half started with Junior Owen Johnson scoring a goal 11:46 into the game with an assist from First-year Rivaldo Pena. Only six minutes later, Junior Alex Krumenauer scored another goal with the help of Anderson, giving the Gusties a 2-0 lead. “I felt pretty good after my goal, it was far away and a nice shot. It felt even better to score on the tall keeper, as well,” Krumenauer said.
Rounding out the first half, Junior Raphael Cattelin scored his first goal of the season in the 35th minute. The goal was assisted by Johnson and the Gusties ended the first half 3-0. “Going into the game we did not expect an easy game since Saint John’s is such a great team, so to be up 3-0 at halftime felt pretty awesome. We also knew at that point that even though we had control of the game, it was our job to come out strong in the second half and firmly step down to finish what we had started. Our team tends to stress finishing games off early, so taking care of business in the first half and closing it out in the second was delightful,” Johnson said.
Despite having a solid 3-0 lead, the Gusties were still not done. With 4:11 left in the second half, Johnson intercepted a pass midfield and scored his second goal of the game. “We executed our game plan that we prepared all week for almost perfectly against Saint John’s,” Player Manager and Assistant Coach Henry Taylor said.
Since four goals wasn’t enough, Junior Jack Knight and Sophomore Ethan Miller worked together with 39 seconds left of the game to score the fifth and final goal. “The two goals towards the end of the game were a nice finishing touch on an overall sublime game for the Gusties, and I think it really boosted our team’s morale to win by that margin,” Johnson said. The Gustie defense has been a force to be reckoned with this year as this was their sixth shutout of the season. “We’ve been really good defensively this year, we have only let in two goals this season and we haven’t let in a single goal in the second half all year. Wesley is one of the best goalkeepers in the conference. We have been defending really well but it starts with the forwards,” Anderson said.
The dominance that the team is showing this year has a lot to do with their connections off the field. “I think we work together really well just because we are always hanging out and joking around and having a good time. The team has a lot of positivity which makes it easier to work together and play well together,” Krumenauer said. The team is off to a great start this season and this is only the beginning. “Everyone on this team is on the same page about what our teams’ goals are and what we want to accomplish this year,” Johnson said.
The momentum that this team has this season is not going to their heads. “This team is different in a way that we are more humble and hungry at the same time because we know that no matter what, we need to keep playing and not look too far ahead. We’ve really just been focusing on one game at a time,” Taylor said. The boys are excited for playoffs and are ready to continue to stay focused and hungry as they continue their season. The Gusties will travel to Saint Mary’s this Wednesday for a 7:00 p.m. game.