Greg Miller, Staff Writer

Augsburg men’s soccer ended their season with a 2-1 victory over Hamline in front of the home fans, bringing their record to 9-6-3 overall with a 4-5-1 MIAC record, which saw them at 7th in the MIAC and finishing one spot out of the playoffs. 

The team played Saturday against Hamline. The Auggies found themselves in a great position as Hamline got called for a handball in the box, giving them the chance to go up on a penalty kick. Augsburg capitalized on Hamline’s mistake as Lionel Vang scored his team-leading 10th goal of the season. Four minutes later, Augsburg was able to send home another goal as Lalo Gomez scored a diving header on a pass from Daniel Hedstrom giving the Auggies a 2-0 lead. Before the end of the first half, the Pipers netted a free kick to cut the lead to 2-1, but no scoring in the second half would keep the game at 2-1.

After a miraculous MIAC tournament run last year that saw the Auggies in the championship game, and an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament, they were unable to make it back this year. 

With the year coming to an end, we must say thank you and goodbye to the seniors. This was a stellar senior class for the Auggies. Lionel Vang, team leader in goals and assists, and captain Daniel Hedstrom led the Auggies on the offensive and defensive ends. Captain Garrett Kaelin held it down for the Auggies in the net, being one of the top goalies in the MIAC. Hsinku Lay, Peyton Boich and Taylor Sullivan all played significant roles, appearing in at least 14 of the Auggies 18 games. James Gagnon also played significant minutes off the bench for the Auggies. Replacing leadership and goal-scoring will be the top priorities for the Auggies during this offseason, as they will bring in a relatively inexperienced squad into the 2020 season next fall.

This article was originally published in the November 8, 2019 issue.