Skip To Main Content

St. Olaf College Athletics

Scoreboard

Casey McCloskey - Concordia - 2021-05-01
Casey McCloskey pictured in a game against Concordia-Moorhead in May 2021.
2
Winner St. Olaf STO (1-0-0)
1
Central CEN (0-1-0)
Winner
St. Olaf STO
(1-0-0)
2
Final
1
Central CEN
(0-1-0)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
St. Olaf STO 2 0 2
Central CEN 0 1 1

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

Men's soccer begins season with 2-1 win at Central

PELLA, Iowa – Sophomores Casey McCloskey and Jordan Oberholtzer netted first-half goals to propel the St. Olaf College men's soccer team to a 2-1 road victory over Central College in the season opener for both teams on Wednesday evening at A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex.

McCloskey opened the scoring in the 12th minute for St. Olaf (1-0-0) off an assist from senior Lucas Gaulmin before Oberholtzer doubled the Oles' lead in the 25th minute off an assist from first year Shea Bechtel. Central (0-1-0) got a goal back five minutes into the second half on a penalty kick by Brant Mueller, but St. Olaf held on the rest of the way to open its season with a win.

The Oles got on the board first in the 12th minute when McCloskey scored on a left-footed shot to the far post after collecting the ball from Gaulmin. The goal was the first official goal of McCloskey's career, while Gaulmin picked up the 10th assist of his career.

Just a minute after entering the game as a substitute, Oberholtzer doubled the Oles' advantage in the 25th minute by tapping the ball in at the far post after Bechtel forced a turnover and found Oberholtzer on the other side of the box. St. Olaf maintained its 2-0 lead at the break after outshooting Central by a 7-2 count in the opening 45 minutes.

Less than five minutes into the second half, the Dutch were awarded a penalty kick and Mueller stepped up and converted from the spot to halve the Oles' lead. Central managed just one shot on goal the rest of the way, but sophomore Austin Williams denied Nathan Kuhlman in the 81st minute to keep the lead intact.

With the Dutch pushing for a late equalizer, the hosts earned a corner kick in the waning seconds and nearly capitalized, but Bechtel was on hand to clear the ball off the line. Williams earned his first official collegiate victory with a three-save performance, while John Foster had four saves for Central.

St. Olaf hosts Northland in its home opener on Sunday, Sept. 5 at 1 p.m. at Rolf Mellby Field. Fans are welcome at the game and are strongly encouraged to wear masks.
 
Print Friendly Version