Why Gustavus?

We know you are asking yourself the question, "why should I choose Gustavus?" Here are the top five reasons, in no particular order, we feel Gustavus Adolphus College is the best... 

1.  COMMUNITY

Vibrant downtown of St. Peter, MN

Gustavus is located in the lovely town of St. Peter, MN, 65 miles southwest of the Twin Cities and 12 miles north of Mankato.  Nestled in the heart of the Minnesota River Valley, St. Peter has that small-town feel everyone is looking for. Locals are friendly and very involved in the community, evident with St. Peter's vibrant downtown filled with local businesses, a farmers market on Tuesdays and Saturdays, in-the-park movies, and outdoor festivals filled with live music.  We even have the St. Peter Pearly Gates!  Make your way here to see for yourself!

Local Farmers Market

Live Music at the Rock Bend Festival

St. Peter Pearly Gates

2.  ACADEMICS

Here at Gustavus we like to breed "A" students.  Gustavus Adolphus College is known for its academic quality, which is measured in many ways: coeducational liberal arts education, student-to-faculty ration of 11:1, average class size of 15, 93% retention rate for first year students, and the nationally renowned Nobel Conference, to name a few. The College takes academics very seriously, so if you are planning on being a student-athlete, "student" always comes first.  We have a wide variety of majors and minors, for every unique person and over 90% of students participate in some type of experiential education during their time at Gustavus.  Part of the mission of Gustavus "is to help its students attain their full potential as persons, to develop in them a capacity and passion for lifelong learning, and to prepare them for fulfilling lives of leadership and service in society."

Nobel Conference

3.  SCHOOL SIZE

Gustavus Adolphus has a walking campus

 In our player's opinion, the school size is very COOL.  With a student body of 2,500, it's comforting to walk around campus and see familiar faces.  It's very rare to go to the Market Place (also known as The Caf) or the Library and not run into someone you know.  Also, as stated in the Academics section, the student-to-faculty ratio of 11:1 is excellent.  Not only do the small class sizes keep you accountable for your work, it also helps you learn.  It's a lot easier to ask a question in class or feel comfortable staying after to talk with your professors when there are only 14 other students in your class.  You're professors genuinely want to get to know you on a personal level and are interested in providing you with the education and resources you deserve.

Average Class Size of 15

4.  THE FOOD 

The Market Place

Receiving an A+ Grade from the College Prowler, Gustavus Adolphus has some of the best college food in the country.  The Market Place, aka The Caf, is centrally located in the Jackson Campus Center and is open every day from 7:00am-11:00pm.  Offering a wide variety of food options, including a rotisserie, made-to-order subs, pizzas, pastas, hamburgers, Mexican, Chinese, vegetarian, a salad bar and even a gluten-free area, students never get bored of the options. Plus, the selections at these stations change on a daily basis.  On top of all those options, there is a bakery where you can find a plethora of freshly made pastries and desserts and even order your roommates birthday cake! Don't forget to memorize the pizzeria number, which makes stellar pizza and cheesy bread and can be ordered for pickup anytime while The Caf is open.

Rotisserie

Fresh Baked Goods from the Bakery 

Order a Pizza from the Pizzeria

5.  SOCCER

2012 Gustie Soccer Team 

SO, what's the best thing about being on the Gustavus Women's Soccer Team?  Well, cross "home-sickness" off your list as you will have instant best friends and form bonds that will never be broken.  The team becomes your family, which is great for students moving away from home for college. Also,  with three full-sized practice fields for varsity soccer alone, as well as a top-of-the-art olympic size grass competition field, the Gustavus soccer facilities are amazing to say the least.  Imagine this: first game of the season, you step onto the game field for the first time sending chills up your back, you're warming up to a great pump-up mix and you've got the gorgeous blue skies of Minnesota on the horizon.  Not only are you playing the sport you love, but fans are out cheering you on.  If that's not a great feeling, then we don't know what is.

The Gustie Soccer Game Field

Now you see why we feel Gustavus is the best-- Hopefully you feel the same!

Finding the Gustie Tempo

2012 Season in Review

It is going to be hard to sum up the 2012 Gustie Women's Soccer season in a few paragraphs and a few pictures, but we will try!  With the arrival on campus of the 20 girls who would eventually make up your 2012 Gustie's, it was clear they would be a team full of passion, energy, fun and quirks! 

Rousing game of "Cream and Crackers"

Wasting no time, the Gusties jumped into preseason  on August 18th with triples to get ready for the season.  The girls got into a rhythm and cliqued on and off the field quickly.  Passing drills, technical work and scrimmages every night capped off the long days.  It wasn't all work and no play though, with Coach LBK introducing a season long favorite: Cream and Crackers for warm-up and plenty of games of pelt.

Pool sessions were a must to relieve tired muscles during preseason, and then came the excitement and relief to start playing games.  The Gusties began with a trip to Wisconsin to face off against UW-Osh Kosh and UW-Stevens Point.  Two tough opponents to open the season, but the girls were eager to see their hard-work from preseason pay off.  Focusing on a possession style of play, our Gustie Tempo was a continual process throughout the year, but the effort and thought from the very beginning was evident.  Squeeze in an epsom salt bath between games and the girls will tell you it was a weekend, and a bath, they will not soon forget!

After the first WIN of the season!

Back on campus, the Black and Gold rallied for their first win of the season against Martin Luther, with six different girls finding the back of the net in the 7-0 victory.  The win also marked Coach Burnett-Kurie's first win as a collegiate Head Coach.  The girls would take that momentum to Crown College and put three more in the net, including the first header goal of the season from Tam Meuwissen.

On to MIAC play, where rivals St. Olaf and Concordia came out strong.  Despite the losses, the battle and fight that would persevere in the this team throughout the season was displayed.  Playing and fighting through the final whistle was a constant for the 2012 Gusties and gave them drive and hope every game. 

Senior Maggie Lane

Up to St. Benedict's to take on the reigning conference champs... more like TAKE THEM DOWN!  From two first half goals by Maggie Lane the Gusties held on for the victory and the first conference win of the season.  Rolling on to St. Mary's the Gusties rallied back to score a second goal after the Cardinals tied  up the score early in the 2nd half.  A stingy defense led by Nikki Carlson was key in keeping St. Mary's off the scoreboard after that.  Two conference wins in a row! Throw in an awesome morning at a high ropes course in Mankato between those two games and the Gusties were literally flying high!! 

Words of encouragement from below.

Nothing seemed to go right for the Gusties at Carleton this year, but the resilient women's soccer team bounced back with a 1-0 victory on the Gustie Soccer Field against Hamline, behind the STELLAR play of goalkeeper Jess Richert.  Her performance in net throughout the season was truly remarkable, but to hold off the onslaught of offense Hamline pushed with in the 2nd half was tremendous.

Next it was a series of one goal losses for the Gusties, but the fight, determination and Gustie Tempo were ever present.  The ladies in Black and Gold never went down without a fight, keeping Bethel off the scoreboard until the final five minutes and forcing the eventual MIAC Runner-Up, Augsburg, to overtime.  

Gustavus Women's Soccer with the U12 St. Peter Girls

Then it was the Inaugural Yuwa "Kicking for the Cause" game against Buena Vista where 100% of the proceeds went to support the the non-profit organization.  YUWA provides young women in rural India with a platform to gain confidence to make a change in their world.  Gustavus women's soccer teamed up with the U12 St. Peter Girls Youth team to be their ball girls and have a mini halftime game.  Raising over $550 in total for Yuwa, the Gusties also kicked their way to victory with Kristin Moen tallying her first goal of the season.

Gusties celebrate a goal.

It was a series of corners that proved the difference in the game against St. Thomas, but they were never dangerous beyond that.  It was the Gusties who ended up with two 1v1s with the St. Thomas keeper late in the second half, putting the Tommies on their heels until the final buzzer.  St. Catherine's was a total Gustie show, with Gustavus pressing and pushing towards net the entire game.  One long ranged kick by the Wildcats dropped quickly and fell in the net for the only goal of the game and another tough 1-0 decision for the Gusties.

The final senior game against Macalaster was a tough match up with the Scots getting on the board early.  Despite being down, the consistent Gustie fight was there throughout, truly playing to their Gustie Tempo style of play that evolved into a mix of possession, grit and passion.

MIAC All-Conference Honorable Mention

Juniors Estee Berg and Amanda Cartony along with Senior Jess Richert were all named to the MIAC All-Conference Honorable Mention with Senior Maggie Lane being named to the MIAC Sportsmanship Team.