NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Junior Hakeem Morgan scored the game-winning goal in the 97th minute to send the St. Olaf College men's soccer team back to the "Sweet 16" for the second-straight season with a 2-1 victory over No. 10-ranked North Central College in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship on Sunday night at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.

With St. Olaf (15-5-1) and North Central (17-1-4) deadlocked at a goal apiece, Morgan sent a left-footed shot from the left side of the box in off the inside of the far post late in the first overtime period for the game-winning goal. Morgan's sixth goal of the season capped the Oles' come-from-behind victory over the previously unbeaten Cardinals, who entered the night as one of five remaining unbeaten teams in the country. The loss snapped North Central's 28-game home unbeaten streak that dated back to a 1-0 overtime loss to Illinois Wesleyan University on Oct. 9, 2019.

With the win, St. Olaf advances to the "Sweet 16" for the third time in program history (2015, 2021, 2022) and will take on fellow Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) member Gustavus Adolphus College next weekend at a yet-to-be determined date and time. The Gusties eliminated UW-Eau Claire on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie earlier in the day on Sunday.

Despite St. Olaf commanding the bulk of the possession early on, North Central opened the scoring in the 16th minute on Jack Fairwood's fourth goal of the season. After the Cardinals were awarded a free kick near the left corner, Jacopo De Collibus sent a free kick into the box that Matteo Innocenti flicked on with a header for Fairwood to put home.

The Oles nearly got a tying goal 10 minutes later when junior Victor Gaulmin played a one-two with Morgan before sending a deflected shot off the outside of the left post from outside the box. Morgan had a chance of his own to tie the game four minutes later but curled a free kick high and wide from just outside the box. Sophomore Shea Bechtel had the final chance of the half for St. Olaf in the 44th minute but sent his header straight at North Central goalkeeper Sid Marquardt off a cross from junior Casey McCloskey.

St. Olaf broke through early in the second half when Bechtel tallied his eighth goal of the season in the 53rd minute. Gaulmin set up the goal by forcing a turnover high up the field before slotting the ball to Bechtel, who drove into the box and fired the ball in under the crossbar.

The Cardinals had the best scoring chance of either team to break the 1-1 tie in regulation when Aidan Westerberg dragged a shot wide of the far post from the right side of the box after being played in on goal with a cross-field ball. The Oles outshot the hosts by a 25-11 margin in regulation, but the teams went to the two 10-minute overtime periods knotted at a goal apiece.

St. Olaf benefited from a ricochet to score on its lone shot of the first overtime period, as an attempted clearance by a North Central defender bounced into the path of Morgan on the left side of the box and Morgan tucked the ball into the lower-right corner of the net for his third game-winning goal of the season.

Sophomore Peter Forseth had one save to make in the final minute of the first overtime and did not face a shot in the second, as St. Olaf effectively ran down the clock to see out the victory. Forseth made eight saves – the second-highest total of his career – to improve to 8-1-1 on the season with the win. Marquardt matched Forseth with eight saves for North Central in the loss.

Information about the date, time, and location of the sectional semifinal between St. Olaf and Gustavus will be posted at athletics.stolaf.edu when available.