NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's soccer team opens the 2021 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship by taking on Dominican University (Ill.) in the first round at home on Saturday morning.
St. Olaf's 17-2-1 record earned the team one of 21 at-large berths into the NCAA Tournament and the right to host the opening two rounds of the tournament. The Oles and Stars will play the first game of the day on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 11 a.m. and that game will be followed by a matchup between North Central College (Ill.) and Loras College at 1:30 p.m.
The winners of the two contests on Saturday will meet on Sunday, Nov. 14 at 1 p.m. for the right to advance to the sectional round. Tickets for all games this weekend will be sold on-site only. Tickets are $6 for adults, $3 for students/senior citizens, $2 for children ages 3-12, and free for children two and under. St. Olaf students get in free with ID compliments of the athletic department. Live video and live stats will be available for all three games for fans unable to attend in person.
All fan parking is on a first-come, first-served basis in the lots surrounding Skoglund Center and Tostrud Fieldhouse. All fans must wear a mask while indoors at all times while on campus. No dogs are allowed inside the venue, except for registered service dogs.
St. Olaf is making its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history (1984, 1992, 1998, 1999, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2021) and its first since a run to the sectional semifinals/Round of 16 in 2015. The Oles are hosting an NCAA Tournament game for only the second time, previously defeating Luther, 3-0, in the first round at home in 1999.
Head coach
Travis Wall's team enters the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 12 in the country in the United Soccer Coaches Men's Top 25. St. Olaf has been ranked in each of the last five national polls, peaking at a season-high No. 10 twice in October, which was the program's highest ranking since No. 8, 2011.
The Oles won their seventh Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) regular-season title – the program's fourth outright title – by becoming just the fifth team to go 10-0-0 in conference play during the regular season. St. Olaf went on to advance to the championship game of the MIAC Playoffs before falling, 2-1, to crosstown-rival Carleton last Saturday.
Earlier this week, St. Olaf had a conference-record-tying six All-MIAC honorees and took home three of the conference's major awards. Wall was named the Coach of the Year by his peers, sophomore
Victor Gaulmin was selected as the conference's inaugural Midfielder of the Year, and first year
Shea Bechtel was tabbed the conference's first Rookie of the Year.
Gaulmin and Bechtel were joined on the All-Conference Team by senior
Lucas Gaulmin, senior
Thierno Gueye, sophomore
Casey McCloskey, and sophomore
Hakeem Morgan. Morgan, Bechtel and
Victor Gaulmin all rank in the MIAC's top five in goals, assists, and points this season. As a team, the Oles boast one of the top offenses in the country, ranking in the top-20 nationally in goals, assists, points, scoring offense, points per game, assists per game, and goal differential.
Saturday's meeting is the first-ever matchup between St. Olaf and Dominican in men's soccer. The Oles won the only previous meeting against North Central by a 3-0 score on Sept. 8, 1990. St. Olaf has lost all six previous meetings with Loras.
