SAINT PETER, Minn. - Coming off a non-conference win on Tuesday, Gustavus men's soccer did not let the rain and cold conditions cause issues, defeating Bethel, 2-0.
The first half was a stalemate, but pressure built in the second stanza as the Gusties (4-2-1, 2-0-0 MIAC) found two goals in the last 30 minutes to earn three points in the MIAC standings against the Royals (3-4-1, 0-2-1 MIAC).
Within the 45 seconds of each other in the first half, transfers
Easton Hoch (Victoria, Minn.) and
Henrry Abarca-Gonzalez (Des Moines, Iowa) forced saves, but after that, the Gusties did not find a shot for 16 more minutes. The team ended the half with four shots on goal and only had one more not on target, showing the ability to find the frame consistently. Bethel led in two statistics in the first half, corners (2-1) and fouls (4-3).
The second half proved to be more entertaining in more ways than one, with four yellow cards being shown in addition to the two goals for the Gusties. In the 60th minute, junior
Evan Afdahl (Eden Prairie, Minn.) played a long ball from his center back position and the conditions caused some confusion for the Royals, which Gustavus was able to capitalize on. Sophomore
Kieran Mahan (Wayzata, Minn.) took a crafty touch with his left foot to senior
Jack Isroff (Valparaiso, Ind.) who took the ball on the half volley and found the bottom left corner. The goal was the senior's first of the season, sixth overall, and fourth game-winning goal. Through the following 25 minutes, seven shots were taken, but none of them caused any issue for the Royal goalkeeper, besides one from senior
Joe Flory (Whitchurch, England) that hit the crossbar.
Flory was in action again with under five minutes to go, picking the pocket of the Royal defender to set up the second goal. After scanning his options, Flory elected to play the ball through the defender's legs and found classmate
Leo Runestad (Northfield, Minn.) who made no mistake, finding the bottom left corner as well. Runestad celebrated in the corner with his teammates, diving through the rain-soaked grass, which was well deserved after his second goal in three games. In the second half, the Gusties took 16 total shots and six of them were on goal and had nine corner kicks compared to the zero that Bethel garnered.
21 total shots ties the season high in addition to last Tuesday's match against UW-Stevens Point and 10 shots on goal did as well. The third and final statistic that was a season high was the 10 corner kicks that Gustavus found. Flory and Hoch both had two shots on goal to lead the team while senior
Simon Woods (Sioux Falls, S.D.) and juniors
Jacob Walker (Chicago, Ill.) and Afdahl played the full 90 minutes in addition to the first shutout of
Jacob Westermark's (Sundbyberg, Sweden) career for Gustavus.
The MIAC slate continues at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday against Macalester, looking to avenge a loss in the 2025 MIAC Playoff Semifinals.
