GAME BOXSCORE
PHOTO GALLERY

NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- Benjamin Wexler (SR, Minnetonka, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret HS) scored the game-winning goal on a shot in the 83rd minute, giving the Augsburg College men's soccer team a 2-1 victory over Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference-leader Carleton College on Saturday afternoon at Carleton's Bell Field.

Chad Gilmer (SO, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) put the Auggies (10-4-1 overall, 4-2-1 MIAC) on the scoreboard in the 33rd minute, scoring his sixth goal of the season on a free kick.

"We absorbed everything they had in the first half, and Gilmer put us ahead against the run of play with a great free kick from 20 yards," said Augsburg head coach Greg Holker.

Carleton (9-4-1 overall, 6-2-1 MIAC) tied the game in the 79th minute, as Will Corcoran scored from Ryan Cammarota. But four minutes after the Knights tied the game, Augsburg's Wexler untied it with his fifth goal of the 2010 campaign.

"The second half was a different game as we started to keep the ball a bit and stage the game closer to their goal," Holker said. "We knew we would face some adversity as Carleton is so dangerous, but our response was fantastic. Wexler's goal earned us the most important three points so far in a season where so many teams are on top of each other in the race to the playoffs."

Augsburg's victory sets up what could be a dramatic finish to the MIAC season, where eight teams still have good shots to qualify for the four-team MIAC playoffs. Carleton and Concordia-Moorhead have 19 points (three points for a win, one for a tie) in league play, while Macalester has 15 points and Augsburg has 13 points.

Augsburg has three league games remaining in the regular season, with its next game next Saturday (10/23) at 1 p.m. at Hamline.

"We are banged up at this point, so a few days off will be very helpful before we travel to St. Paul to play Hamline," Holker said. "This may be the most exciting and stressful MIAC race I have ever been a part of."