DUBUQUE, Iowa — The Gustavus men's soccer team settled for its second-straight draw, battling Loras College to a 1-1 tie in Dubuque Friday night. The Duhawks held a 1-0 lead over the Gusties until
Joe Flory (Whitchurch, England) found the back of the net for his first collegiate goal.
Both teams played a physical game, combining for 12 fouls in the first 45.
Owen Johnson (Apple Valley, Minn.) nearly gave the Gusties the advantage, as he took a free kick just outside the box that was barely grabbed by the Duhawk keeper. But it was Loras to strike first shortly after, as a costly foul set the Duhawks up for a free kick to left of the Gustie goal. Loras headed the ball past
Wesley Sanders (Urbandale, Iowa) for the 1-0 lead. The Duhawk defense held the No. 8 Gusties to only three shots in the first half. The Gusties managed plenty of offensive possession and pressure, but were met by purple jerseys at every scoring chance in the box.
Gustie newcomers
Brian Brown (Circle Pines, Minn.) and Flory came to the rescue 15 minutes in to the second half. Brown centered a pass to Flory in the box, who hammered home his first collegiate goal past the Loras goalkeeper. The goal lit a spark in the Gustie offense, who managed 11 shots in the second half and three corner kicks in the final minute of the game.
The Gusties outshot the Duhawks, 14-6, landing six on goal to the Duhawks' two.
Simon Woods (Sioux Falls, S.D.) led the Gusties with three shots, while
Otis Anderson (Minneapolis, Minn.) and
Sam Just (Lakeville, Minn.) each added two.
"We played a rejuvenated Loras today," said head coach Tudor Flintham. "Any time you play a team with a new head coach, they have an extra few percent in their game. But when it's a former player from their glory days, that can make an even bigger difference. They were definitely up for the game and started better than us.
"It took us about 20 minutes to settle in. They have a tough style and it was our first game on turf. But once we settled, we carried the game and the box score reflects that. We need to heal up. This was a hard game without some of our key pieces. Any time you're missing an all-American center back and your top scorer it's going to be harder, especially against Loras. But we'll bounce back quick. No time to waste."
Gustavus, now 1-0-2, remains in Iowa to face University of Dubuque tomorrow afternoon.
