PELLA, Iowa -- Winning its fourth straight game to start the season, the Augsburg University men's soccer team scored a 1-0 shutout victory over Central College in a nonconference game on Monday afternoon.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 1, Central (Iowa) 0
LOCATION: A.N. Kuyper Athletic Field, Pella, Iowa
RECORDS: Augsburg 4-0-0 overall, Central 1-2-0 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The game proved to be a demanding, physical affair in hot weather in central Iowa, with the Auggies claiming a 55-to-45-percent possession advantage.
• Augsburg gained the lead in the 70th minute, when Kebba Janneh (FY, Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) scored in front off an assist by Tomas Piza-Gonzalez (FY, Minneapolis, Minn./Hiawatha Collegiate HS). The goal was Janneh's fourth of the season, tying him with teammate Helio De La Torre (SO, Oakdale, Minn./Mahtomedi HS) for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference lead in goals. 
• The Auggies were outshot by an 11-8 margin, including a 6-3 margin in the second half, but Auggie goalkeeper Oscar Herrera (FY, Madison, Wis./Madison West HS) came up big on several occasions, claiming a season-high eight saves in the game for his second career shutout.
• With the heat, the Auggies used a deep bench, with 18 players seeing game action. Aside from Herrera, three other Auggies played the full 90 minutes -- defenders Drew Collins (SO, Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park HS) and Marco Corona-Duran (JR, Fridley, Minn./Spring Lake Park HS), and midfielder Jorge Radilla Elizalde (SO, Roseville, Minn./Rosevile HS).

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Augsburg's 4-0-0 start marks the first time it has started a season with four straight wins since the 2006 campaign, when the Auggies won their first six games and went unbeaten in their first 10 games (8-0-2), en route to a 13-3-3 campaign. Augsburg went 4-0-1 to start the 2019 season, with a tie in its season-opener.

FOR THE FOES
• John Foster had four saves in goal for Central.
• Cole Manuel had three shots in the game for the Dutch.

QUOTES FROM AUGSBURG COACH GREG HOLKER
• "The conditions were just brutal for all the players. It was hovering around 90 degrees, providing an additional challenge to the already insane schedule I put together. Getting through four games in six days healthy is a tribute to how the guys prepared for the season. We had to do it without Spencer and Ruiz today, so we were a little short on midfield depth. Central provided a really good challenge, and their pressing improved as the game wore on, making it more difficult for us to slow the game down."
• "The goal was well worked and once Tomas broke free around the endline, he found Kebba for a pretty routine finish. Three of his four goals have come from inside 12 yards, as he's proving to be very useful in games where we can get deeper and cut it back."
• "Oscar had to make one save of significance in the first half, as he dove to his right to squeeze a shot off their corner kick. In the second half he had two really important moments -- one was a fingertip save to his right, and the last was in the final minute of the game when he poked a ball out and away from a guy who was all alone toward the right side of our goal. High risk, high reward at that moment."
• "Overall, a strong start. We have found different ways to win games. However, it's only going to get more challenging in the weeks ahead. We have one last nonconference test on Thursday, and then it's onto the all-important MIAC games."

UP NEXT
• Augsburg hosts Northwestern-St. Paul on Thursday (9/9) at 7:30 p.m. at Edor Nelson Field.