BOXSCORE | AUGSBURG MEN'S SOCCER VIDEO PAGE

MINNEAPOLIS -- Pascaul Venter (SR, Rochester, Minn./John Marshall HS) claimed seven saves to record the 24th shutout of his career, as his Augsburg College men's soccer team finished with a 0-0, two-overtime tie with visiting Wartburg College on Saturday afternoon at Edor Nelson Field.

The game was a matchup of two national tournament veterans. Augsburg (1-0-1 overall), ranked No. 17 nationally, appeared in its first-ever NCAA Division III national tournament last season, while Wartburg (1-0-1 overall) has appeared in the last six national playoffs.

Augsburg outshot Wartburg by a 14-13 margin, as the teams played a solid, physical match, though both teams had solid chances to score late in the contest.

"Wartburg is a good side. They are dangerous on set pieces because they are so big," said Augsburg head coach Greg Holker. "Ahmed Gobana (SO, Burnsville, Minn.) had the cleanest chance to score (for Augsburg) when he headed an open chance wide from inside eight yards. Pascaul had a nice tip off of Josh Ingelbright's free kick into the crossbar 15 minutes earlier; those were the best chances for each team. Otherwise it was a bit of a stalemate.

"We had some individuals that did not play up to their standard, but as a group we improved from our first match. I think we may be a bit frustrated because we expect to be playing like it's November on the first weekend of the season."

Ryan Sorensen (SR, Plymouth, Minn./Osseo HS) had three shots for Augsburg, while #T.J. Haag# (JR, Apple Valley, Minn./Burnsville HS) had two shots, including a shot just wide of the mark early in the second overtime.

"Jeff Butler (FY, Prior Lake, Minn.) was very good today. He continues to impress all of us with his composure on the ball. As soon as he gets more comfortable and starts driving to goal, he is going to be a real threat," Holker said. "Van Hong's (JR, St. Louis Park, Minn.) energy was contagious and he made a big difference playing through his injury."

Trent Michael (SR, Urbandale, Iowa) had two saves for Wartburg.

Augsburg faces another team from the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on Monday (9/7), when it hosts Central (Iowa) at 6 p.m. at Edor Nelson Field. Wartburg faces another Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team on Sunday (9/6) at 1 p.m., when it travels to face Macalester.

"Central will pose another great challenge for us on Monday," Holker said. "Gary Laidlaw has those guys rolling with two impressive early-season wins."