Men's Soccer 9/20/03 -- Bethel 6, Augsburg 3 

BOXSCORE

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. (9/20/03) -- Matt Johnson (Jr., Bourbonnais, Ill./BBCHA HS) had two goals and an assist for the Bethel College men's soccer team on Saturday, as the Royals cruised to a 6-3 triumph over Augsburg College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at Bethel.

Johnson scored two goals in a four-minute span late in the first half to lift Bethel to 4-2-1 overall, 1-1-1 in MIAC play. Augsburg drops to 4-4-1 overall, 0-2-0 in MIAC play, losing its second straight conference contest.

Augsburg scored first in the contest, as David Reissner (Fr., Greenwood Village, Colo./Keystone National HS) put his first collegiate goal on the board after a missed shot by Aaron Riedel (So., Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest HS) in the 20th minute.

But after that, Bethel dominated, scoring four straight goals. Ryan Dorn (Sr., Carol Stream, Ill./West Chicago HS) scored on a penalty kick in the 31st minute, and one minute later, Johnson scored his first goal on a header from a free kick by Brent Schiestl (Sr., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Park Center HS). In the 36th minute, Johnson scored his second goal on an assist from Ryan McKellips (So., Coon Rapids, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian HS).

McKellips scored on a one-timer from a cross by Reed Thunstrom (Fr., Isanti, Mich./Cambridge-Isanti HS) in the 65th minute.

Augsburg scored twice in a three-minute span midway through the second half. Riedel scored an unassisted goal in the 70th minute, and Nicholas Stuber (Fr., Cadillac, Mich.) claimed his first collegiate goal on a feed from Jason Clark (Sr., Eagan, Minn.) in the 73rd minute.

But Bethel scored twice in the last 15 minutes to finish off the Auggies. Thunstrom scored off a free kick by Abe Voyen (Fr., Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS) in the 75th minute, and Chris Solie (Fr., Rye, N.H./Portsmouth HS) scored from Johnson in the 87th minute.

Bethel outshot Augsburg by a 32-15 margin, including an 11-4 advantage in the first half.

Eric Berg (Jr., Hastings, Minn.) made six saves and allowed a goal in 66 minutes of work, with Matt Eberhardt (Jr., Mahtomedi, Minn./Concordia Academy HS) making three saves in 24 minutes.

Augsburg goalkeeper Lucas Grant (Jr., Starbuck, Minn./Minnewaska Area HS) made seven saves.

Augsburg returns to action on Wednesday (9/24) with a men's/women's doubleheader against Concordia-Moorhead at Edor Nelson Field. The men's game is at 4:30 p.m., with the women's game to follow at 7 p.m. Bethel returns to action next Saturday (9/27) with a nonconference game at Upper Iowa at 3:30 p.m.