Men's Soccer 10/25/06 -- Gustavus 1, Augsburg 0 (OT) 

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (10/25/06) -- Flynn Stewart-Franzen (So., Minneapolis, Minn./Holy Angels HS) scored on a scramble off a corner kick in the second minute of overtime, giving Gustavus Adolphus College a 1-0 victory over host Augsburg College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's soccer battle Wednesday night before 347 fans at Edor Nelson Field.

With the ball loose in front of the net off the corner kick, Stewart-Franzen collected the ball and fired it to the right side of the net for the game-winner at the 1:46 mark of overtime. Neil Nelson (Sr., Edina, Minn.) was credited with the assist.

The goal was just the fourth given up by Augsburg (13-2-2 overall, 5-2-2 MIAC) this season. Augsburg has outscored its opponents by a 35-4 margin.

"We had a feeling this game would come down to a set piece," said Augsburg head coach Greg Holker. "We played hard for the duration of the game, but struggled to find any clean opportunities in the final third."

Despite the loss, Augsburg still has a chance to earn its first-ever spot in the four-team MIAC postseason playoffs. Augsburg is currently tied with Hamline (10-3-2 overall, 5-2-2 MIAC) for third place in league play, as each has 12 league points. Augsburg faces fifth-place St. Thomas (10-5-2 overall, 5-3-1 MIAC) on Saturday (10/28) at 1 p.m. in St. Paul, while Hamline travels to face Macalester (7-8-1 overall, 4-5-0 MIAC) on Friday (10/27) at 7:30 p.m.

"St. Thomas is all that is on our minds now," Holker said. "They have some dangerous players up front in Joe Voeller, Matt Michalik and Andy Gikling. It will be a challenge for us to deny their three forwards a chance at goal."

Carleton (10-5-2 overall, 4-3-2 MIAC) hosts St. Olaf (6-9-2 overall, 3-4-2 MIAC) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in another game involving a team with hopes for a playoff berth.

With the win, Gustavus (14-2-1 overall, 8-1-0 MIAC) moves into a first-place tie with St. John's (12-3-1 overall, 8-1-0) entering the final weekend of the regular season. With 16 league points each, both teams have already clinched berths in the four-team MIAC postseason playoffs and finish their regular seasons on Saturday, with Gustavus hosting Bethel at 1 p.m. and St. John's playing at Concordia at 3 p.m.

Gustavus outshot Augsburg by a 19-8 margin, but the game remained scoreless through regulation, thanks to the play of the two goalkeepers. Augsburg's Pascaul Venter (So., Rochester, Minn./John Marshall HS), who entered this week's play as the top-ranked goalkeeper in the NCAA Division III national statistics in both save percentage and goals-against-average, collected eight saves in regulation time and received plenty of support from the defense.

Meanwhile, Gustavus goalkeeper Tyler Garry (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D./O'Gorman HS), ranked 10th nationally in goals-against-average and sixth in save percentage entering this week's play, claimed three saves, including two in the second half, and also received support from his defense.

Defender Alex Hildebrandt (Fr., St. Paul, Minn./Highland Park HS) had four of Augsburg's eight shots, including a shot on goal off a long free kick in the 62nd minute. Augsburg had two key chances late in regulation, as a Josh Stepaniak (Fr., Woodbury, Minn.) shot was saved by Garry in the 77th minute and a Hildebrandt shot went high in the 80th minute.

Gustavus also had several opportunities late, as a Nelson shot was saved by Venter in the 68th minute, a header by Mike Butterworth (Jr., Katy, Texas/Robert Service (Alaska) HS) went just wide left in the 72nd minute, and a shot by Alex Groth (Sr., Waupaca, Wis.) went high in the 82nd minute. Butterworth had three shots in the game.

"I thought we had one when Hildebrandt's strike just missed high, but on the other end, we were fortunate Groth missed on their counter attack from the 6-yard spot," Holker said.