ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The Bethel University men's soccer team fell to Saint John's University on Saturday afternoon by a score of 1-0, ending their two-game winning streak. The Royals gave the Johnnies a strong test, keeping the game scoreless well into the second half.
"I was proud of our defensive effort today, they are a dynamic team that is highly ranked in the conference and we battled for all 90 minutes. If we can bring that consistency to our remaining games, I will be very pleased," assessed head coach Jeremy Iwaszkowiec.
The Royals certainly held up on the defensive end against one of the top teams in the MIAC, weathering several early scoring chances that the Johnnies could not convert. Sophomore standout Jakob Bartels played a major role in the goal once again for the Royals as he made several diving saves to keep the Johnnies off the scoreboard. Heading into halftime, Saint John's had put 10 shots on net compared to three for the Royals but Bethel was energized going into the break as they were looking to knock off the Johnnies for the second straight year.
The second half yielded much fewer scoring opportunities for both teams but it was the Johnnies who eventually broke the tie in the 60th minute. Daniel Bruckbauer converted the goal off assists from Ryley Sullivan and Alex Schnobrich. While the Royals mustered a valiant comeback effort, they could only produce one shot-on-goal and were ultimately not able to answer Bruckbauer's score.
The Royals will travel to the University of Minnesota Morris for the next contest on Tuesday and will not return to the Ona Orth Complex until October 24th.
