The Gustavus Men’s Soccer Team opened MIAC play last week with a trip to St. Thomas on Wednesday before hosting St. Mary’s last weekend.

After falling 4-3 to Central College on September 15th, the Gusties bounced back with a strong win against St. Thomas, and rode that momentum to wins against St. Mary’s and UW-Superior.

With the two wins, the Gusties improve to 7-1 on the year and sit atop the current MIAC standings.

Against the Tommies, the Black and Gold got on the board early.

In the ninth minute, Sophomore Cole Schwartz netted his eighth goal of the season. First-year Raphael Cattelin and Junior Matthew Gibbons were credited with assists.

Just five minutes after the Gusties scored, the Tommies responded with a goal of their own.

The game would remain tied through the remainder of the first half.

The game remained deadlocked until the 62nd minute, when Schwartz found Junior Trace Dobson inside the box, and Dobson found the back of the net to put the Gusties up 2-1.

The last 28 minutes of the game featured strong defense and goal-tending from the Gusties, who maintained their lead until the final whistle.

“They’re the best defensive unit we’ve seen all year so we knew it was going to be an absolute battle for 90 minutes,” Head Coach Tudor Flintham said.

First-year Wesley Sanders recorded the win in the net, improving to 5-1 on the season.

Sanders made six saves and allowed just one goal to the Tommies.

“Our squad was just phenomenal and we were clinical enough and although we had a few more chances to score more goals, the 2-1 win over the Tommies helps us build momentum moving forward,” Flintham said.

Four days after their contest with the Tommies, the Gusties hosted St. Mary’s for their MIAC home-opener.

Cole Schwartz led the Gustavus offense once again, and found the back of the net in the 17th minute.

This time, Schwartz was fouled in the box and converted the ensuing penalty kick to give the Gusties a 1-0 lead.

The rest of the first half was highlighted by strong defense from both teams and there were relatively few chances to score.

At the break, the Gusties maintained their 1-0 lead.

In the 68th minute, First-year Palden Choesang fired a beautiful cross to Schwartz at the back post, who volleyed the ball out of the air past the Cardinals’ goalie with his left foot.

This goal was Schwartz’s conference-leading 10th of the season.

Sanders played solid in the net, and the Gusties’ defense carried them to a 2-0 decision.

“Saint Mary’s is well coached and hard working and threw us off our game today. But we need to control the controllables, and our focus needs to improve. Today was an important reminder that every team in the MIAC is capable of catching you out. We’ll refocus and press the reset button, knowing that we have a lot more work ahead of us,” Flintham said.

For his efforts, Schwartz was named MIAC Men’s Soccer Athlete of the Week.

At the time of the award, he led the conference with 10 goals and 24 points.

Schwartz’s 10 goals were fourth-most in the nation, while his 24 points were third-most of any DIII player.

This Wednesday, the team faced its biggest test so far when they took on UW-Superior, the third ranked team in the North Region.

The Gusties stepped up to the challenge however and sent a big message to the rest of the league, winning the match decisively 5-1.

Schwartz was on fire once again, netting two goals for the Gusties, while Junior Scott Heinen, Gibbons and Cattelin had one each.

“We could have scored many more goals the last few games and need to dial in and be more clinical, as well as cleaner in the build. But overall, we feel okay and like we’re in a good spot,” Flintham said.

After a strong start to the season the Gusties are currently tied for first in the MIAC with a 2-0 record.

Schwartz leads the conference with 28 points, Cattelin is second with 23 and Gibbons is  third with 20.

The Gusties are also currently ranked as the second most successful scoring team in the nation, averaging 4.86 goals per game.

The team has a bye weekend, and will focus on preparing for MIAC play.

The team’s next test is a top-tier MIAC battle against Augsburg Oct. 1 at Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis, MN.