Men's Soccer 9/7/03 -- Augsburg 7, Coe (Iowa) 2 

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (9/7/03) -- Aaron Riedel (So., Minneapolis, Minn./South HS) scored four goals, including three in a row in the second half, while teammate Mike Elcano (Jr., Sparks, Nev./Bishop Manogue HS) scored two goals and added three assists, as Augsburg College dominated the action in a 7-2 triumph over Coe College (Iowa) in a nonconference men's soccer game Sunday afternoon at Augsburg's Edor Nelson Field.

Augsburg picked up its third victory in a row in improving to 3-2 on the season. Coe drops to 0-3 on the year, having been outscored 16-2 in its first three games.

Six Auggies figured in the scoring, as the hosts scored their most goals in a game since an 8-1 win over Wisconsin-Superior on Oct. 23, 2002.

Riedel's four goals were the most in a single game for an Auggie since 1979, the first year of accurate statistics for the Auggies. His eight-point day was the most for an Auggie since Matt Lachner (Sr., Maple Grove, Minn.) had a nine-point effort (three goals, three assists), in an 8-0 win over Wisconsin-Superior on Oct. 22, 2000.

Augsburg dominated play, outshooting Coe by a 29-17 margin, including an 18-9 advantage in the first half as Augsburg built a 4-1 lead at the break.

In the first eight minutes of the second half, Riedel scored three goals in a row, two on assists from Elcano and the other on a feed from Jason Clark (Sr., Eagan, Minn.). He also had a goal in the 25th minute of play, on a feed from Clarke Athman (Jr., St. Joseph, Minn.).

Elcano opened the Auggie scoring in the fifth minute, on a feed from Athman. But after an Augsburg goal was disallowed three minutes later on an offsides call, neither team put the ball in the net unil the 22nd minute, when Coe tied the game on a goal from Andrew George (Fr., Pomeroy, Iowa/Pomeroy-Palmer HS), on an assist from Michael Drinkall (Jr., Danville, Iowa.).

Three minutes later, Riedel scored from Athman, the first of three goals in a 10-minute span to close the first half. Elcano scored his second goal of the game, on a serve from Lachner in the 32nd minute, and Lachner scored his first goal of the season on an assist from Elcano and a steal from Yury Bahdanionak (Jr., Minsk, Belarus) in the 35th minute.

Kyle Fargen (Sr., Appleton, Wis./Appleton East HS) closed the scoring in the game with a goal for Coe in the 72nd minute, on Drinkall's second assist of the game.

Lucas Grant (Jr., Starbuck, Minn./Minnewaska Area HS) and Han Zeller (Sr., Winona, Minn.) split halves in goal for the Auggies, Grant making five saves and allowing a goal in the first frame, Zeller making two saves and allowing a goal in the second half. Bryan Knapp (Fr., Burlington, Iowa) allowed all seven goals and managed two saves in 57 minutes, with Brandon Hernandez (Fr., Denver, Colo./Kennedy HS) playing 33 minutes of relief and making two saves.

Augsburg returns to action on Friday (9/12) with a 6 p.m. home contest against Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) at Edor Nelson Field. It is the fourth game of a six-game homestand for the Auggie men's soccer team. Coe returns to action on Friday at 6 p.m., playing at Iowa Wesleyan in Burlington, Iowa.