Greg Miller, Staff Writer

After tying Puget Sound to open the season, the Auggie soccer team won their next four games to start the season with a 4-0-1 record and found themselves ranked ninth in the nation. That set up a battle with the 24th ranked Luther College Norse.

The Auggies found themselves down early after allowing a goal 2 minutes and 40 seconds into play. Augsburg tried to battle back but allowed another goal just before halftime to go down 2-0.

The Auggies continued to fight in the second half and were successful in cutting the deficit to one point. In the 72nd minute, senior defender Hsinku Lay scored his first goal of the season with an assist from sophomore midfielder Nick Zuchowski. Only down by one goal, Augsburg went on the attack but they were unable to score the equalizer and fell 2-1 to the Norse for their first loss of the season.

This season, Lionel Vang leads the Auggies in goals and assists with 3 and 4 respectively. Daniel Hedstrom and Antonio Magadan are next in the goal lead with 2 each. Goalkeeper Garrett Kaelin is having another solid season for the Auggies as he is tied for 2nd in save percentage amongst MIAC goalies with over 200 minutes played. Following the loss to Luther, Augsburg is still ranked at number 23 in the NCAA DIII USC National Poll.

This article was originally published in the September 20, 2019 issue.