Men's Soccer 10/17/08 -- Augsburg 1, Bethel 0 (OT)
GAME BOXSCORE | AUGSBURG SEASON STATISTICS
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MINNEAPOLIS (10/17/08) -- Nick Anderson (JR, White Bear Lake, Minn.) scored the game-winner on a one-time shot from the left side on a feed from Simon Rekkebo (FY, Trondheim, Norway) three minutes into overtime, as Augsburg College scored a 1-0 victory over visiting Bethel University in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's soccer game on Friday night at Augsburg's Edor Nelson Field.
With the victory, Augsburg (8-2-4 overall, 6-2-0 MIAC) remained in the hunt for a spot in the four-team MIAC postseason playoffs. Augsburg now has 12 conference points, tied for second place with Gustavus (6-1-0 MIAC) and one point behind league-leader Carleton (6-1-1 MIAC, 13 points). St. Thomas sits in fourth place in the league standings (5-1-1 MIAC, 11 points). Augsburg has two conference games remaining in the regular season.
The Auggies dominated the action throughout the game, claiming a 33-3 shots advantage over Bethel (3-11-0 overall, 1-7-0 MIAC). But Bethel goalkeeper Nick Kantor (JR, Buffalo, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian HS) collected 12 saves in net to keep the Royals in the game and force overtime.
"This was one of those games where you get a bit concerned toward the end because you haven't already scored three goals. The quality of our soccer was very good, but Bethel did a good job denying us the final piece," said Augsburg head coach Greg Holker. "Nick Anderson almost had one in the first half, but their keeper made a great save on his volley. It was good to see him get on the end of one of Simon's services for a lot of reasons."
Augsburg goalkeeper Pascaul Venter (JR, Rochester, Minn./John Marshall HS) did not have to make a save in recording his third shutout of the season and 16th of his career.
"James See (SR, Richfield, Minn./Holy Angels HS) did well to break things up in midfield and not allow Bethel to get into our half," Holker said. "Lucas Ingram (JR, Woodbury, Minn.) and Simon had loads of time getting forward and did fairly well. There were moments we were really fun to watch and they had a big part in that."
Augsburg returns to action with a nonconference game against Clarke (Iowa) on Saturday (10/18) at 7 p.m. at Edor Nelson Field. Bethel returns to action on Tuesday (10/23) at 3 p.m., with a game at Martin Luther.
"Getting to 12 points puts us in a good spot for the playoff race with two conference games remaining. We have two nonconference matchups that will help us prepare for St. John's a week from tomorrow. We will see some different players in tomorrow night's game against Clarke," Holker said.
