COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. — The 2026 season came to an end for the Augsburg University men's soccer team with a 3-2 loss at Saint John's University on Tuesday at Haws Field in the Minnesota Intercollegiate athletic Conference Playoff Quarterfinals. The Auggies scored both of their goals in the second half and generated 14 of their 21 shots after halftime. The teams were separated by one shot overall, with the Auggies finishing with 21 shots and eight on goal while Saint John's had 22 shots and 10 on goal.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Saint John's 3, Augsburg 2
LOCATION: Haws Field, Collegeville, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 5-5-7 overall, Saint John's 16-2-2 overall
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Auggies went into halftime down 2-0 after Saint John's broke through on a penalty kick in the 31st minute and added a second goal at 38:06, but the Auggies also generated five shots and a corner over the final 12 minutes. Earlier,
Finnur Mercier helped keep the match scoreless through sustained Saint John's pressure, saving shots by Billy Cornett and Grady Monette while the Auggies answered with two
Gio Casias shots and corner kicks in the 13th and 16th minutes.
Saint John's continued to press around the half-hour mark, with the Auggies getting a team save at 30:14 before Billy Cornett converted the penalty kick at 30:54. The Auggies pushed after falling behind, getting attempts from
Liam Paradiso,
Eric Riera,
Anson Karn, Casias and
Caleb Ibarra, but Soren Benson scored from Laird Holden and Ethan Brown to send Saint John's into halftime ahead 2-0.
After Saint John's moved ahead 3-0 early in the second half, the Auggies scored twice, but the rally stopped at a 3-2 final. Earlier in the half, the Auggies generated chances through
Remus Repcak, Paradiso, Casias and
Cole Pettit before Ibarra scored on an
Asher Johnson assist in the 59th minute to make it 3-1.
The Auggies kept pressing from there, earning three corners between 61:49 and 70:31 and putting shots from Riera and
Christopher Plaza Alvarado on frame, both saved by Austin Ertel. Saint John's answered with a stretch of pressure from 73:40 to 81:35, but Mercier made two saves to keep the Auggies within two. After Ertel saved a Casias penalty kick in the 88th minute, Paradiso scored off a Casias assist at 87:25, and Casias put another shot on frame before Saint John's closed out the one-goal result.
Casias recorded an assist and led the Auggies with seven shots, putting three on goal. Ibarra scored on one of his three shots. Paradiso also scored and finished with three shots, one on goal. Goalkeeper Mercier made five saves over 90 minutes.
The game marked the final collegiate games for eight Augsburg seniors —
Samson Gyasi,
Asher Johnson, Pettit, Repcak,
Eric Riera, Zacharia Sherian,
Jacob Thao and
Andrew Ziebarth.
Augsburg has reached the MIAC postseason playoffs four straight years and 11 times under 23rd-year head coach
Greg Holker.
QUOTES FROM AUGSBURG COACH GREG HOLKER
"It's always tough when the season ends, especially for the guys that played their last collegiate game. I feel for them right now, and I am so grateful for their contributions to the program over the course of their careers. I am particularly grateful for the guys that didn't play as much, but gave us everything regardless. This crew has left the program in a better place than when they arrived, and that is all we can ask of anyone. Special thanks for the outgoing seniors,
Samson Gyasi,
Asher Johnson,
Cole Pettit,
Remus Repcak,
Eric Riera, Zacharia Sherian, Jaco Thao, and
Andrew Ziebarth."
"It was a tough game to play for both teams with the conditions, as it required more direct play and way more transitional moments. That likely favored Saint John's more than us. The penalty decision was a painful one in the first half, but their second goal was the one that we could do better on. We were all but in the back of their net, and in a flash they were behind us to goal. The third goal was a moment early in the second half where we just switched off and failed to track back off the ball."
"Down 3-0, I was very proud of the fight in us to keep clawing our way back in. We left several goals out there today, but getting to 3-2 and forcing the game on them was impressive. This team has been hard to beat for most of the season, and today they showed that characteristic once again."
