Jacksonville, Fla. - Griffin Gilstrap (Safety Harbor, Fla.) scored a pair of goals, while Gonzalo de Mujica Weston, Fla.) and Fredrik Brustad (Oslo, Norway) chipped in one each to lead Stetson to a 4-2 road win over A-Sun foe Jacksonville in its conference opener Friday night. With the win Stetson, ranked sixth in the NSCAA South Region poll remained undefeated at 7-0-1 on the season while Jacksonville fell to 2-5-1 overall and 0-1-0 in conference play.
The Hatters wasted no time gaining the upper hand with a pair of goals early in the first half. With 35:48 showing on the clock Gilstrap struck first. Kevin Munz (Jupiter, Fla.) and Jonathan Mendoza (Altamonte Springs, Fla.) combined a couple of touch passes to set up Gilstrap who found the right corner for his fifth goal of 2009.
A minute and a half later Brustad delivered his second goal of the season with a left-footed blast to the left corner from 15 yards. Stetson took a 2-0 lead into halftime.
After the break JU made its way back into the game with a goal at 63:16 by Andy Mikesa. The Dolphins' positive outlook didn't last long as the Hatters stormed back to regain its two goal advantage. In the 67th minute Munz setup Gilstrap with an opportunity in the box that was stopped short when he was taken down by a Dolphin defender. The ensuing penalty kick resulted in Gilstrap's second tally of the game.
With his offensive effort tonight Gilstrap elevated himself to the top spot in the A-Sun in scoring with 13 points and in goals with six.
At 81:06 Munz picked up his second assist when he set up de Mujica for Stetson's fourth goal. After a deflection off a defender Munz found himself 1v1 with the keeper. Not happy with the angle however, he unselfishly flipped a pass to the middle and found de Mujica alone for his third goal of the year.
"Tonight's win was a big step towards our goal as a team", said Munz. "We have a long way to go in conference but it is a good start."
Stetson head coach T. Logan Fleck was very pleased with his team's effort and in particular the play of Munz.
"Munzy spread the ball around and shared the wealth tonight", said Fleck. "We also had exceptional play from (Ryan) Corning, Mendoza and (Logan) Potter in goal."
At 7-0-1 Stetson is off to the best start since the 1989 season when the men's soccer team began the season 11-0-2. The current unbeaten streak of eight games is the longest since 2001 when the Hatters ran off nine consecutive wins.
Next up for the Hatters is North Florida on Sunday at 7:00 p.m. in Jacksonville.
