Men's Soccer 9/2/06 -- Augsburg 8, Crown 0

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (9/2/06) -- Andrew Seidel (So., Woodbury, Minn.) and Andrew Connor (Jr., Becket, Mass./North Muskegon, Mich., HS) scored two goals apiece, as Augsburg College claimed an 8-0 victory over Crown College in a nonconference men's soccer game Saturday afternoon at Augsburg's Edor Nelson Field.

Augsburg dominated play in the contest, outshooting Crown by a 38-2 margin and claiming 13 corner kicks to Crown's one. It was the first game of the year for the Auggies, while Crown falls to 0-1-1.

Augsburg extended a team shutout streak to 302 minutes over parts of four games dating to last season -- three straight shutouts (two last season) and 12 minutes of a fourth game last season.

"I thought we got out of the game what we needed -- a lot of possession, a few good chances to score, some decent defending in midfield and another clean sheet," said Augsburg head coach Greg Holker.

Augsburg scored twice in a 53-second span midway through the first half to take the lead for good, with Seidel scoring from James See (So., Richfield, Minn./Holy Angels HS) and Kelsey Duerr (Fr., Blaine, Minn./Spring Lake Park HS), and Alex Hildebrandt (Fr., St. Paul, Minn./Highland Park HS) putting a header in off a corner kick by Ryan Kitzman * (Sr., Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo HS). Connor scored on a long ball from Jake Lor (Fr., St. Paul, Minn./Central HS) in the 39th minute.

Six minutes into the second half, Nick Manders (Jr., De Pere, Wis./West De Pere HS) put in a goal from Seidel off a corner kick. Ryan Sorensen (Fr., Plymouth, Minn./Osseo HS) had a goal and assist in the second half, and Nicholas Stuber (Sr., Cadillac, Mich.) capped the scoring on a give-and-go from Lor in the final minute of play.

Twenty-six Auggies saw action in the game. Pascaul Venter (So., Rochester, Minn./John Marshall HS) started in goal, with Donnie McCarthy (So., Whitehall, Mich.) playing in relief.

"It was good to see us able to go as deep as we did -- 26 players is a lot for one game, but hopefully it keeps our first guys a bit more refreshed, and brings our younger players along more quickly," Holker said. "I thought Alex Hildebrandt was as good as advertised, and he scored a very good goal off of our fifth corner kick. Ryan Sorensen was composed on the ball and showed he is ready to go at this level, and Lucas Ingram (Fr., Woodbury, Minn.) did very well with the minutes he had."

Seth Spading (So., Chisago City, Minn./Chisago Lakes HS) made nine saves in goal for Crown.

Augsburg hosts Loras (Iowa) on Sunday (9/3) at 1 p.m. at Edor Nelson Field.

"Tomorrow will be a much different match with an opponent that plays extremely hard," Holker said. "They are strong in the air and have a dangerous player up top in Mike Richter."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------