Men's Soccer 10/4/08 -- Augsburg 5, St. Mary's 0
GAME BOXSCORE | AUGSBURG SEASON STATISTICS
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MINNEAPOLIS (10/4/08) -- Outshooting St. Mary's University by a 23-4 margin in the second half, the Augsburg College men's soccer team erupted for a five-goal second stanza in a 5-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory on Saturday night at Augsburg's Edor Nelson Field.
#D.J. Wendell# (JR, Princeton, Minn./Charles M. Russell (Mont.) HS) scored two goals to bring his team-leading total to eight, and Alex Hildebrandt (JR, St. Paul, Minn./Highland Park HS) and Andrew Seidel (SR, Woodbury, Minn.) had a goal and two assists each for the Auggies (6-1-3 overall, 4-1-0 MIAC), who extended their unbeaten streak to four straight games (2-0-2).
After outshooting St. Mary's by a 13-4 margin in the first half and having no scoring to show for it, the Auggies dominated in the second half, scoring five goals in a 29:02 span and claiming a 36-8 shots advantage in the game over St. Mary's (2-8-1 overall, 0-4-1 MIAC).
"I was irritated in our first half performance -- not because it lacked quality, but because it lacked purpose. We didn't do well to help each other out," said Augsburg head coach Greg Holker. "Fortunately that improved at the break."
Wendell opened the Auggie scoring on a goal off a corner kick by Seidel, which was touched by Hildebrandt in a scramble in the penalty box, in the 50th minute. Eight minutes later, Hildebrandt scored his third goal of the season, one-timing a shot in front off a service by Simon Rekkebo (FY, Trondheim, Norway). Wendell then scored his second goal of the game in the 70th minute, sprinting behind the defense on a deep service from 60 yards out by Seidel to score.
"Alex Hildebrandt is extremely versatile, and proved again why he is one of the best players in this conference," Holker said. "D.J. notched two more, including the one that came from a deep run in behind their backs. We've been waiting for that all season and hope to see more of it."
Augsburg clinched the win with two goals in a 1:15 span late in the game. Marc Jacob (SO, Maple Grove, Minn.) scored his first collegiate goal on a diving rebound header after a shot by Peter Osborn (FY, Eagan, Minn./Eastview HS) hit the crossbar, and Seidel claimed his first goal of the season in front off a feed from Hildebrandt.
"It was great to see Marc Jacob get on the board. His was a tremendous effort on the diving header," Holker said. "Relief -- that's what Andy Seidel feels after finally recording his first tally of the season. We will see if that opens the door to some more goals. Simon Rekkebo was very good tonight, and Ryley Teske (JR, Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Lutheran HS) brought some good quality in his minutes. Having the comfortable lead gave chance to get him some fitness as well."
Augsburg ggoalkeeper Donnie McCarthy (SR, Whitehall, Mich.) picked up his second shutout of the season and fourth of his career with a three-save effort. St. Mary's goalkeeper Jon Szafranski (JR, Barrington, Ill./Fremd HS) took the loss with an 11 save effort.
"Their goalkeeper is very good. If not for him, it could have been a lot more," Holker said.
Both teams return to MIAC play with games on Wednesday (10/8). Augsburg hosts Gustavus at 7:30 p.m., while St. Mary's hosts Carleton at 4 p.m.
"Now we have to lock down, take care of our injuries, and prepare for our next game against Gustavus. We had a healthy crowd tonight, but hope we get some more students to chime and make a difference in an important conference clash on Wednesday night," Holker said.
