MINNEAPOLIS — The No. 8-ranked Augsburg University men's soccer team played No. 25-ranked Luther College to a 0-0 tie on Sunday at Edor Nelson Field. The Auggies absorbed a late stretch from 74:37 to 85:07 that included five Luther attacking actions without conceding. Augsburg finished with 15 shots and six shots on goal, while its goalkeeping totals included nine saves in the shutout.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 0, Luther (Iowa) 0
LOCATION: Edor Nelson Field, Minneapolis
RECORDS: Augsburg 0-0-2 overall, Luther 0-1-1 overall
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Auggies put together a sustained spell of pressure midway through the first half, earning corner kicks at 11:51, 12:33 and 13:54 and getting a saved shot from
Christopher Plaza Alvarado before another Plaza Alvarado attempt at 15:02. Earlier,
Finnur Mercier made a fourth-minute save on Ignacio Duenas, and Augsburg worked through an opening stretch that included three fouls against it in the first six minutes. Mercier added saves on Francesco Mungari at 16:31 and Artur Sarcevic at 34:19, while the Auggies continued to create through
Caleb Ibarra and
Liam Paradiso, including Paradiso's saved shot at 36:49. Augsburg University finished the half with six shots and all three corner kicks, and the teams went to halftime at 0-0.
The Auggies kept the Norse off the board through a busy second half, with Mercier making six saves after halftime as the teams remained scoreless. Earlier, Mercier saved Francesco Mungari's shot in the 46th minute, and Augsburg University answered with
Cole Pettit's shot on goal in the 49th minute and a corner kick in the 52nd. Ibarra forced a save in the 63rd minute, and the Auggies later created a late push with shots from Ibarra,
Gio Casias and Paradiso around a corner kick in the 81st minute. Mercier added saves in the 78th and 83rd minutes, and Augsburg University held through a Luther corner in the final seconds as the match finished 0-0.
Mercier recorded nine saves over 90 minutes and finished with a shutout for the Auggies. It was Mercier's first collegiate home game in goal and his first collegiate shutout. Ibarra tallied five shots, including two on goal, to share the team lead in attempts. Paradiso added five shots and put two on frame.
Augsburg is ranked No. 8 in the United Soccer Coaches Division III preseason national poll, while Luther is ranked No. 25 in the same poll.
QUOTES FROM AUGSBURG COACH GREG HOLKER
"We've opened with two draws, both fair results, and that's pretty good for a program that turned over as much as we did, especially against two preseason No. 1 teams in Wartburg (American Rivers Conference) and Luther (Midwest Conference). In addition, I don't think we are anywhere near our potential at this point, which makes these draws even more impressive at this early stage. We are getting better, and we will continue to learn more about ourselves and I know our players will keep raising the level. It's just a matter of time.
"Congratulations to
Finnur Mercier for his first career shutout today. He had to make two decent saves, both in the second half, to preserve that clean sheet. He is growing with each day as well, understanding how we want to play and balancing that with managing the game circumstances."
"
Caleb Ibarra and
Liam Paradiso both looked likely to score today once again. Those two are providing the kind of attacking mentality we are looking for.
Remus Repcak and
Christopher Plaza Alvarado were both solid today, as well. Both adapted to having to do different things for the group than they might prefer. We also had a few debuts today for
Oliver Connor and
Noah Pittman. Olie has been so good in training recently and has worked so hard to climb into the team. I am extremely happy for him, in particular."
"Next up, we head to Wisconsin to face another preseason No. 1 team from the NACC in Edgewood on Saturday. Really good opponents are helping us grow and improve, so we are grateful for these opportunities."
UP NEXT
Augsburg travels to Madison, Wis., to face Edgewood College on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 3 p.m. The game is a rematch of a second-round NCAA Division III national tournament game last season, which Augsburg won 1-0 at Edor Nelson Field.
