AUGSBURG GAMECENTRAL PORTAL
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MINNEAPOLIS -- Van Hong (SR, St. Louis Park, Minn.) scored for Augsburg College in the third minute, and the lead held up for a 1-0 triumph over Bethel University in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's soccer game on Wednesday evening at Edor Nelson Field.

Hong put a shot to the lower right corner of the net off a feed by Ahmed Gobana (JR, Burnsville, Minn.) at the 2:58 mark of the first half.

"Van's early goal was what we needed off the bat, a calm finish from Gobana's service," said Augsburg head coach Greg Holker. "In the first 10 minutes, we were pretty sharp and didn't let them out, but as the game wore on, it became more of a chaotic affair."

Augsburg controlled the flow of the game in the first half, outshooting the Royals by a 7-2 margin. But Bethel pushed back in the second half, outshooting Augsburg by an 8-6 margin in the period. After Augsburg had four corner kicks in the first half, Bethel responded with six corner kicks in the second half -- and nearly scored in the 68th minute, but Auggie defenders made two goal-saving clearances in the penalty box off of Bethel shots.

"David Scheller (JR, Maple Grove, Minn.) was very good tonight and he saved us on one of Bethel's six second-half corner kicks, clearing a final attempt off the line. We cannot be conceding that many corners against us," Holker said.

Augsburg goalkeeper Clayton Lynch (FY, Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier HS) claimed his fifth shutout of the season with a two-save effort. Leif Sundberg (JR, Mahtomedi, Minn.) had four saves for Bethel.

"Lynch played well. He parried one chance over his head off the bar and did well to settle the game down," Holker said. "Another shutout was important to stop the recent run of goals against us."

Hong had three shots to lead Augsburg. Gobana, Peter Osborn (JR, Eagan, Minn./Eastview HS), Gottlieb Uahengo (SO, Windhoek, Namibia/St. George's College) and Benjamin Wexler (SR, Minnetonka, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret HS) had two shots each.

Andreas Scott (SR, Cedar, Minn./St. Francis HS) had three shots for Bethel, while David Swenson (Sr, Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine HS) had two saves.

Both teams return to action on Saturday (10/16). Augsburg travels to face Carleton at 1 p.m., while Bethel hosts St. John's at 12 p.m.

"Losing #T.J. Haag# (SR, Apple Valley, Minn./Burnsville HS) to injury will set us back a bit on Saturday at Carleton," Holker said. "They are still playing the most consistent, high-quality soccer in the league, and they do not give up points very often at home."