Johnson City, Tenn. - Sophomore Fredrik Brustad (Oslo, Norway) scored his second goal in as many games to lead Stetson (10-1-2, 4-1-1) to a 1-0 win over East Tennessee State (2-7-3, 1-3-1) Sunday afternoon in Johnson City, Tennessee. The victory moved Stetson into a first place tie with Campbell in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings. Both teams have earned 13 points on the season.
With four games remaining plus post-season play, Stetson has reached the 10-win plateau for the sixth time overall and the second time in Head Coach T. Logan Fleck's three season tenure.
Brustad, a preseason all-conference selection picked up the game-winner on a breakaway three minutes and 10 seconds into the second half. He was sent in for a 1v1 situation by Kevin Munz who slipped a through ball past the defenders. It was the third goal of the season and second of the current road trip for Brustad who tallied the equalizer for the Hatters with just under 10 minutes remaining against USC Upstate on Friday.
For Munz, it was his team-leading sixth assist of the season. The senior out of Jupiter, Florida is now second in the league in assists, as well as points with 16.
"We had to fight hard all day to get behind the defense. Munzy found a seam and Freddy finished the play", said Coach Fleck.
Brustad played inspired soccer all day leading Stetson with six shots. Freshman Jonathan Mendoza (Altamonte Springs, Fla.) had two and four other Hatters had one each.
Overall the Bucs led the Hatters 20-12 in shots and 5-1 in corner kicks. It was the Stetson defense that was the difference on the afternoon. Sophomore goalkeeper Logan Potter (Merritt Island, Fla.) was perfect between the pipes making six saves and registering his league-leading fifth shutout of 2009.
"This was a great win for us. We played a very good team with a stingy defense", said Fleck. "A lot of credit goes to our midfielders Gonzo, Giulio and particularly Carpintero on the left side. We were under tremendous pressure the last six minutes and they did a great job."
Stetson will now return home for a Thursday night (7:00 p.m.) showdown with Campbell for the top spot in the standings and a leg up on the #1 seed in the upcoming A-Sun Tournament. This year the #1 seed will host the tournament's final four. Following the Campbell game Stetson will play host to Mercer on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.
