Box Score
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's soccer opened conference play with its first setback of the season, a 3-1 loss to unbeaten Bethel Saturday afternoon at Haws Field.
Bethel scored a pair of first half goals and the Johnnies (4-1-2, 0-1-0 MIAC) struggled to create offense until late in the game. Freshman forward
Lisle Cherwien (Mound, Minn./Orono) scored the only tally of the day for SJU just after the half, but the Royals capitalized 20 minutes later to dash any hopes of a comeback.
Bethel (6-0-2, 2-0-0 MIAC) capitalized six minutes into play, as Ryan Swanda scored his fourth of the season off a cross from Jordan Ross. Ross played the ball of a corner kick and sent it across the box to Swanda for his fourth goal in two games.
Ross doubled the lead for BU in minute 28, deflecting a shot past freshman keeper
Austin Ertel (Brownsburg, Ind./Lawrence Central) off a shot from James Oberholtzer.
Trailing by two after the half, the Johnnies mustered some offensive pressure after the break thanks to leading attacker sophomore
Ronan O'Connor (Woodbury, Minn./Hill-Murray). O'Connor put three shots toward the Bethel goal, the final of which rebounded to Cherwien for his second goal of the season.
The Royals put the game out of reach about 20 minutes later, as a long goal kick from Bethel keeper Griffin Blokker landed on the foot of Ross down the field, who tapped in his second of the game past Ertel, who made an aggressive challenge on the play.
SJU managed eight shots and five corner kicks after the goal, but couldn't put anything behind Blokker.
The Johnnies out-shot Bethel 21-13, but eight of BU's attempts made it on-target. O'Connor accounted for seven of SJU's 21 shots and three of the team's shots on goal. Ertel finished with five saves and suffered his first loss (4-1-1 record).
Saint John's hosts St. Scholastica (0-4-3, 0-1-0) Monday, Sept. 22, at 2 p.m. at Haws Field for a rescheduled MIAC contest after last Wednesday's match was postponed due to lighting and heavy rain.
