BOXSCORE MINNEAPOLIS -- Josh Sweeney (SR, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) and Scott Clinton (SO, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) combined for the scoring for Augsburg College, as the Auggies closed the 2012 men's soccer season with a 2-0 victory over visiting St. Mary's University in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Edor Nelson Field.

Sweeney scored his fourth goal of the season from Clinton in the 20th minute, then Clinton scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season from Sweeney in the 57th minute for Augsburg, which closed its season at 11-5-2 overall, 6-3-1 in MIAC play. Augsburg could end the season tied for fourth place in the MIAC standings with St. Olaf, but the Auggies were eliminated from contention for the fourth spot in the MIAC postseason playoffs on its head-to-head meeting with St. Olaf, a 1-0 loss on Oct. 10. St. Mary's finishes 7-10-1 overall, 4-6-0 in MIAC play.

Saturday's game also featured a unique goalkeeping situation for the Auggies. Following an injury to starting goalkeeper Clayton Lynch (JR, Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier HS) during the week, Augsburg had to use two goalkeepers making their collegiate debuts in the season's final two games. On Saturday, Augsburg enlisted the services of defender Tyler Heaps (SR, St. Paul, Minn./DeLaSalle HS), who made his final collegiate game a special one with a two-save effort in goal, earning the shutout victory.

"The subplot to this one was our goalkeeping situation," said Augsburg coach Greg Holker. "Tyler Heaps dropped in goal from his right back position to earn the clean sheet. You can be guaranteed he will talk about that for a while. Clayton might want to purchase some ear plugs. He was called upon twice in the game and both moments he was sharp and made the save."

Augsburg outshot St. Mary's by an 18-7 margin en route to the victory. The first goal came in the 20th minute, when Sweeney collected a free kick from Clinton from 40 yards out and deposited it in the net. Clinton then returned the favor in the 57th minute, taking a pass from Sweeney in front and finishing the play for the final goal of the season for the Auggies.

"It was a solid performance overall," Holker said. "I think our soccer in the early parts of the game wasn't very sharp, but the guys found it and did very well on the set piece goal to create some comfort at the 20-minute mark. Once we went up 1-0, there wasn't much doubt how the game would play out. Since 2004, we are 53-2-4 with a lead at halftime.

"The (Bloomington Jefferson) Jaguar connection was in full force today with Sweeney and Clinton pairing up on both goals. I am guessing they hope their alma mater can put some away like they did on Monday in the state semifinals. Scott has been playing very well to end the season. He finally got himself healthy and focused, and has proven he has a lot of upside moving forward. Sweeney went the full 90 in his last game and played extremely well. He was noticed throughout the match."

Sweeney had four shots in the game, while Clinton and Danny Osip (JR, Minneapolis, Minn./South HS) had three shots each. Jacob Bina (SR, West Salem, Wis.) had two shots for St. Mary's. The Cardinals' Dontae Gillespie (FY, Naperville, Ill./St. Joseph HS) had three saves in goal in the first half, while Joey Petrich (SO, Elk River, Minn.) had two saves in goal in the second half.

The game marked the end of the collegiate soccer careers for seven seniors. Five were in uniform and all made solid contributions -- Sweeney, Heaps, Chad Gilmer (SR, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS), Sherif Soud (SR, Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Eagan HS) and Ryan Scheller (SR, Maple Grove, Minn.). Two other seniors -- #O.P. Marcellino# (SR, Rochester, Minn./Century HS) and Gottlieb Uahengo (SR, Windhoek, Namibia/St. George's College) -- were not able to be at Augsburg on Saturday.

"With the exception of O.P. and 'G' (Uahengo), who weren't able to be here today, all of our seniors played significant minutes and did very well," Holker said. "Their contributions over the course of their careers have been immensely important to this program's growth. They won 45 games in four years, qualified for the MIAC playoffs twice, and won a game in the NCAA tournament. That's a great gift to the program in regard to results, but beyond that they have been incredible stewards of the program and of Augsburg College. They have helped raise the standard around here, and our younger guys understand what they have to do moving forward because of these seniors."