BOXSCORE BOXSCORE

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. -- Scoring its most goals in a single game since the 2006 season, the Augsburg College men's soccer team dominated in a 7-1 victory over host Bethel University in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match on Wednesday afternoon at the Ona North Athletic Complex.

Josh Sweeney (JR, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) claimed his first collegiate hat trick with a three-goal effort, while Ahmed Gobana (SR, Burnsville, Minn.) scored two goals and added three assists. In all, eight different Auggies figured in the scoring.

"Josh Sweeney did exactly what we asked of the guys -- press the goal and clean up second chances. He was efficient in that area of the field," said Augsburg head coach Greg Holker.

Augsburg (2-0-1 overall, 1-0-0 MIAC) scored five goals in the first 31 minutes of the game, outshooting Bethel (4-1-1 overall, 0-1-0 MIAC) by a 16-2 margin in the half, en route to a 30-7 advantage in the game. The seven goals were the most for Augsburg in a single game since the opening contest of the 2006 season -- an 8-0 win over Crown on Sept. 2, 2006.

Augsburg scored three goals in a 2:08 span early in the game. Chad Gilmer (JR, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) scored from Gobana at the 10:17 mark, followed 86 seconds later by Sweeney's first goal, assisted by Harald Fauskanger (FY, Bergen, Norway). Sweeney scored again just 42 seconds later, assisted by Gobana.

"Gilmer showed why is a recognized player - scoring the first goal while playing up top, then dropping to clean up some early second half errors in the back. It is enjoyable watching him play wherever he is," Holker said.

Peter Loyd (SR, Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) scored in the 24th minute from Mathias Macody Lund (SO, Bergen, Norway), and in the 31st minute, Gobana scored his first goal of the contest, assisted by Peter Osborn (SR, Eagan, Minn./Eastview HS).

Early in the second half, Bethel scored its lone goal of the game, as David Kim scored from Kolten Fischer. "They have a real threat on their hands in David Kim. He is fearless running at multiple opponents and he deserved the goal they scored," Holker said.

The Auggies capped their scoring with two more goals, as Gobana scored from Gottlieb Uahengo (SO, WIndhoek, Namibia/St. George's College) in the 62nd minute, and Sweeney capped his hat trick with a goal from Gobana at the 89:58 mark.

"Gottlieb was fun to watch," Holker said. "His work rate is so strong and he is becoming very good on the ball. I think he stood out tonight. The goal that he set up for Ahmed was a real delicate sequence and finished gently by Gobana when he chipped it over the onrushing goalkeeper."

In his first start of the season, Augsburg goalkeeper Will Morlock (SO, Grand Haven, Mich.) collected two saves for the victory. Leif Sundberg had four saves in the first half for Bethel, with Chris Scott collecting seven saves in the second half in relief.

"I think overall we were too slow moving the ball around in this game and should have done better with other missed chances," Holker said. "Seven (goals) is a lot, but we have to get better in the way we build up and manage the game if we are to finish in the top four."

Augsburg has a weekend of nonconference games coming up at Edor Nelson Field, as the Auggies host the Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) on Saturday (9/17) at 1 p.m., and Carroll University (Wis.) on Sunday (9/18) at 1 p.m.

"This weekend will stretch us a little as it kicks off a busy portion of our schedule," Holker said. "We are playing catch-up in games played at this point, so we will have to be cognizant of managing minutes for a lot of players against two strong opponents."