CHICAGO, Ill. – An 85th-minute goal by Peder Olsen was the difference as the St. Olaf College men's soccer team fell 1-0 to North Park University in the third round of the 2021 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship on Friday afternoon at the University of Chicago's Stagg Field.

After a scoreless opening 84-plus minutes, Olsen got in behind the defense on a long through ball from Isak Flo and slotted the ball home for his 20th goal of the season to propel North Park (16-5-0) into the national quarterfinals. St. Olaf (19-3-1) saw its season come to an end in the Sweet 16 for its second NCAA Tournament appearance in a row, closing the season out with a school-record 19 wins and a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) regular-season title.

In Saturday's quarterfinal, North Park will take on the University of Chicago for a spot in the semifinals in Greensboro, N.C. on Dec. 3 after the Maroons edged Calvin, 1-0, in the second game of the day. St. Olaf was making its eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history (1984, 1992, 1998, 1999, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2021) and its first since the 2015 team also made it to the Sweet 16.

St. Olaf outshot North Park by a 14-8 margin in the game, including a slender 3-2 advantage in shots on goal. Despite both teams combining for only five shots on goal in the game, both teams had opportunities to score before Olsen's game-winner. All four all-time meetings between St. Olaf and North Park have been decided by a single goal.

The first chance of the game fell to first year Shea Bechtel in the 15th minute when Bechtel sent a volley from the left straight at North Park goalkeeper Alfred Sward. Ten minutes later, Jesse Anamoo had the first chance for the Vikings, but sophomore Austin Williams came off his line to stop Anamoo's sharp-angle shot from the left.

Bechtel had another chance for the Oles just three minutes after Anamoo's shot, as Bechtel cut in from the right and unleashed a shot that was blocked out for a corner. Off the ensuing corner, the ball came to sophomore Victor Gaulmin at the top of the box, but his shot was also blocked.

Tobias Linde nearly opened the scoring for the Vikings in the 32nd minute, but his right-footed shot from the left side of the box sailed past the top-left corner of the goal. Three minutes later, Bechtel created an opportunity for sophomore Casey McCloskey, whose sharp angle shot from the right side of the box was saved by Sward.

The Oles nearly grabbed the lead in the final minute of the half when sophomore center back Ian Elliott won possession, drove forward, and unleashed a shot headed towards the top-left corner of the goal, but Sward leapt to tip it onto the crossbar.

In the second half, St. Olaf again nearly opened the scoring when McCloskey's cross from the left just evaded Gaulmin's run into the box, as the game remained scoreless until Olsen's decisive moment. Right off of the ensuing kickoff, Gaulmin went for goal from midfield, but his effort hit the top of the crossbar near the top-left corner of the goal.