Greg Miller, Staff Writer

After going 1-4 in their last five games, men’s soccer was able to bounce back this weekend with a 2-0 win against UW- Platteville and a 0-0 draw against Nebraska Wesleyan to wrap up their non-conference play.

Facing off against the Pioneers last Saturday, the Auggies were able to find the back of the net in the first 20 minutes when sophomore Nick Zuchowski tapped home a goal on a beautiful pass from senior captain Lionel Vang to take a 1-0 lead. 10 minutes later, junior Lalo Gomez was able to put home his first goal of the season on a remarkable service from fellow junior Nick Vergara. Augsburg goalie Garrett Kaelin was able to record four saves on his way to his second straight clean sheet.

The Auggies were back at it on short rest when they took on Nebraska Wesleyan on Sunday. Their tired legs showed in the first half as Augsburg was outshot 13-2, but after that the Auggies decided to take it to the Prairie Wolves, outshooting them 13-5 the rest of the game. In the overtime periods, the Auggies were given many opportunities to take the game as they had eight corner kicks but were not able to find the back of the net on any of their set pieces. Keeper Garrett Kaelin made seven stops in the game as he recorded his third consecutive shutout.

Augsburg has six games remaining, all in MIAC play, and currently find themselves sitting tied for seventh with three points. They will need to make a strong push in these last few games to find their way back into the MIAC playoffs after being runners-up in the MIAC tournament last year.

This article was originally published in the October 11, 2019 issue.