MINNEAPOLIS -- Surrendering two goals in the first half, Augsburg University trimmed the gap to 2-1 early in the second half, but could get no closer in a loss to Gustavus Adolphus College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's soccer game on Saturday evening.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Gustavus Adolphus 2, Augsburg 1
LOCATION: Edor Nelson Field, Minneapolis
RECORDS: Augsburg 6-4-0 overall (2-2-0 MIAC), Gustavus 7-4-0 overall (3-2-0 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Aidan Sim-Campos (JR, St. Joseph, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo HS) scored his team-high fourth goal of the season in the 53rd minute, stealing the ball 25 yards out and scoring from the top of the penalty box.
• Augsburg outshot Gustavus by an 8-6 margin in the second half, but could not get closer in the game. Gustavus claimed a 16-12 advantage in shots in the contest.
• Clark Page (JR, Delafield, Wis./Kettle Moraine HS) had seven saves in goal for Augsburg.
• The teams played a closely-matched, physical game, with 27 combined fouls -- 15 against Augsburg, 12 against Gustavus.

FOR THE FOES
• Matt Murakami scored both goals for Gustavus, scoring in the 23rd minute from Arthur Parens, and in the 35th minute from Kyle Monson.
• Payton Spencer had six saves in goal for Saint John's.

QUOTES FROM AUGSBURG HEAD COACH GREG HOLKER
• "We came out unprepared, and that's on me. We were flat and sluggish and had no sense of urgency. Gustavus played really direct to push us back, but that didn't affect our personality on the night. that's what we missed from the start. We should have been 1-0 up when we missed a breakaway in the 20th minute, but then conceded three minutes later when they pumped a long ball that our center back headed up to the sky. When it fell, Parens quickly poked it to Murakami who calmly finished from 23 yards out. It was well-taken, but came from nowhere. Their second goal was a good set piece -- served in a dangerous spot and Murakami continued his personal streak of success on our field by jumping over Manni to head home for his second goal of the night."
• "At halftime, we came out a bit more vertical with three up top, and it paid off quickly when Aidan put some pressure on them in a moment we gave away possession cheaply. Their guy coughed it up and Aidan scored from 20 yards out to get us back in the game. After that, we pressed for more and had all the possession, but didn't create any real threatening chances. Parens stung the post on a counterattack in the late stages, but that was about it for the second half."
• "Gustavus did what they needed to get points -- hats off to them. Hopefully we can sort through some of these injuries we've suffered in the past two games, and find a way to turn frustration into something productive. Tuesday's nonconference game with St. Thomas now becomes something different than what we had initially hoped, and we have to use it as a tool to prepare us for the second half of the season."

UP NEXT
• Augsburg hosts St. Thomas in a nonconference game on Tuesday (10/3) at 7:30 p.m. at Edor Nelson Field.
• Gustavus travels to face Presentation (S.D.) in nonconference action on Tuesday at 3 p.m.